MP’s poverty summit reveals shocking truth of hardship in the South Lakes

The harrowing tales of hardship in the South Lakes were revealed at a poverty summit organised by local MP Tim Farron.

Tim met with representatives from Manna House, King's Food Bank, South Lakes Housing, Kendal Parish Church, Impact Housing, Kendal College, South Lakeland District Council, the Archdeacon of Westmorland, and South Lakes Citizens Advice Bureau to discuss the current rising levels of poverty that exist in South Cumbria and what he can do as a Member of Parliament to help.

The most shocking things that came to the light during the meeting were:

• 1 in 7 children in South Lakeland are currently living below the poverty line - amounting to nearly 2,200 children
• The amount of people using the food bank in Kendal has risen by 34% in the past year and the number of people using them in the first two months of 2018 was 19% more than last year
• Over 6,000 households - already on low incomes - are set to be adversely affected by the introduction of Universal Credit later this year

Following the meeting, on the advice of the organisations that were at the meeting, Tim has set up a 5-point action plan to help reduce the staggering amount of poverty that exists in the South Lakes and throughout the rest of the country:

1. Push the Government to end the freeze on benefits, so that benefits rise in line with the cost of living
2. Extend the impact assessments for all new Government policies to people who live in poverty - so that the effects of them are taken into account every time a new law is passed
3. End the sanctioning of people for trivial reasons, such as people missing appointments, which leaves people without the money to afford food for that week
4. Make benefit payments for under 25s equal to those over the age of 25 - young people need to eat as much as older people do
5. Bus passes for the under 25s - young people in poverty struggle to afford to travel to college or benefit appointments

Tim said: "The stories that came out during the meeting will stay with me for a long time.

"For example, young people going hungry for weeks after being sanctioned for missing a meeting at the Job Centre when they couldn't afford the money for the bus fare in the first place.

"To hear that 113 kids in my little village of Milnthorpe are currently living in poverty really hammered home how devastating the situation is.

"But words on their own aren't enough - which is why we've put together an action plan and we won't stop fighting to help all those in need."