26/03/2013

Job Centre's Referring Claimants To Food Banks

Job Centre staff are referring thousands of welfare recipients to food bank, over concerns they have not got enough money to eat, according to the BBC.

Benefits officials have given around 6,000 people vouchers for emergency food parcels in the last year, figures obtained by the BBC suggest.

The government says Job Centre staff are responding to people's needs, while Labour says the figures show more people are suffering hardship.

Since October 2011 Job Centres have been able to issue vouchers for clients to access help at registered food charities.

The Trust says the number of people being sent to them from unemployment officers has doubled in the last few months.

"We have had a lot through from Job Centres where very heavy sanctions have been imposed upon them and they have not been able to feed themselves," says Roslyn McVeigh, who manages two food banks near Glasgow.

(H)


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