Dependency on food banks in Wales has become a ‘national scandal’ - with Plaid Cymru hitting out at the UK and Welsh Governments, stating that - “Labour in Wales have allowed dependency on food parcels to become the new norm!”

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Social Justice, Sioned Williams MS, has called out both the UK Labour Government and Labour Welsh Government for failing to take action on poverty.

This comes following a report published today (Wednesday, May 21) by the Trusell Trust, which revealed that reliance on food banks in Wales remains much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The Trussell Trust’s report titled ‘Emergency food parcel distribution in Wales’ revealed that emergency food provision in Wales has almost doubled over the last decade, and has increased by 31% since the start of this Senedd term.

With stubbornly high and increasing levels of child poverty in Wales, nearly two-thirds of emergency food parcels go to families with children.

During Plaid Cymru’s Spring Conference in Llandudno earlier this year, the party announced they would mirror Scotland’s Child Payment – a policy proven to be successful in tackling the child poverty.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for social justice, Sioned Williams MS said: “It’s a national scandal that so many people and families in Wales are having to rely on parcels from food banks. The latest data shows dependency levels remain much higher than pre-pandemic levels, meaning Labour in Wales have allowed dependency on food parcels to become the new norm.

“Make no mistake, there are actions both the Labour Welsh Government and UK Labour Government could take to reduce the need for food banks in Wales, but they choose not to.

“With almost two-thirds of parcels going to families with children, tackling the blight of child poverty on our communities must be a priority. Plaid Cymru have long called on the UK Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap, one of the main drivers in pushing more and more families into poverty and keeping them in poverty. The cuts to disability benefits will also significantly increase the number of people living in poverty in Wales.

“Where Labour have failed to commit to targets to reduce child poverty in our communities and the need for food parcels, Plaid Cymru will take the necessary action and implement a direct child payment – like in Scotland – to sustain and support families in Wales who continue to struggle. Because when our children are growing up in poverty, doing nothing is not an option."