Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to support people in food poverty (i) in Plymouth and (ii) across the country.

Departments across government are working collectively to tackle poverty in all forms with a sustainable, long-term approach and to support people on lower incomes.  We know people are facing pressures with the increasing cost of living and recognise that some need extra support with essentials like food shopping and other day-to-day costs. These are global challenges, but the Government has taken action to support families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what has already been provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million of this £500 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund, while the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Plymouth Council was awarded £2,294,796.82 for the Household Support Fund between October 2021 and March 2022. The indicative allocations for the current Household Support Fund (April -September 2022) remain the same.