This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 27 May 2014. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
The Bishop of Oxford and 'End Hunger Fast' campaigner, the Revd Dr Keith Hebden, met the Prime Minister David Cameron this weekend to press for an end to food poverty. The End Hunger Fast campaign, which is backed by 100 national church leaders, more than 70 food and nutrition academics and NGOs representing networks of several million UK volunteers and activities, is calling on the Government to makes welfare work for the most vulnerable, make work pay, and tackled the rising cost of food. The campaign took off in Lent, with a Twitter reach of over a million, when a number of church leaders and others committed themselves to fast in solidarity with those who go hungry in Britain today.
Dr Hebden himself fasted for 40 days. We tried to deliver a letter to Mr Cameron's constituency office before Easter, but unfortunately we were turned away on that occasion," said Dr Hebden. "This meeting a few weeks later gave us the chance to talk to the Prime Minister about the urgent problem of hunger in Britain. "Specifically, we've asked that 95 per cent of welfare payments are made within the target deadline of 16 days, instead of the current 92 per cent, which though rising, is still not good enough. "We want people who are given sanctions to be properly informed about their next steps, and that means a commitment to ensure that staff at Job Centres are better trained.
And we asked the Prime Minister to accept the offer of an independent group of academics to monitor UK nutrition and hunger statistics.
Mr Cameron heard our case and promised to consult with Ian Duncan Smith and respond in the next few weeks. "Bishop John said: "It was really good to meet Mr Cameron and to talk through the issues.
While I understand the need for a change of culture around welfare, it cannot be right in 21st century Britain that so many people are going hungry.
My worry is that the safety net for the most vulnerable in our society has disappeared. "While I am glad to see churches and communities responding to the need by creating food banks, the huge rise in hunger is a scandal.
I continue to be shocked by the scale of the problem in the Thames Valley, my own diocese.
And we should be clear that any suggestion that food banks are stoking demand is wrong.
Since 2010/11 there has been a four-fold rise in food banks, but a ten-fold rise in users, which is profoundly worrying. "As Mr Cameron said, people go to food banks for different reasons.
The Church of England is working in partnership with Oxfam and Child Poverty Action Group on in depth research on why people use food banks and I hope the Government will study the findings with care when they are published later this year. "I recognise that there are no easy solutions, but this is a profoundly moral question.
I am grateful to the Prime Minister for his time and his promise to meet again later this year. "For more information on End Hunger Fast contact Keith Hebden on 07929430648, Andy May on 07917824009.
To speak to the Bishop of Oxford contact Sarah Meyrick 07824 906839