SDLP Opposition Communities Spokesperson Daniel McCrossan has said that the Executive must prioritise support for those living in poverty.

He was speaking after a Trussel Trust survey found that almost four in ten people in receipt of Universal Credit in the North ran out of food in the last month and did not have the funds to buy more.

West Tyrone MLA Mr McCrossan said:

“The huge rise in food bank use over the last few years shows the incredible pressure that many families are under. We have heard multiple heartbreaking stories in the media about parents being forced to skip meals so that their children can eat or to keep the lights and heating on. I cannot even begin to imagine what it’s like being unable to afford food and other bare essentials and it must take a significant toll on the physical and mental health of those impacted.

“For many years the SDLP has been making the case for better support for those in receipt of welfare who have been unfairly punished by a cruel Tory austerity-driven government and the failure of Stormont to govern or deliver in any meaningful way. We have a duty to look after vulnerable people in our society and nobody should be in a position where they have to rely on food banks or struggle to feed themselves.

“I was shocked that when the Executive revealed their much-heralded priorities for their Programme for Government yesterday there was no mention of poverty whatsoever. This is particularly startling given the Executive has a legal duty to introduce an anti-poverty strategy. Far too many people across the North are experiencing poverty and it’s long past time the Executive took this issue seriously and brought forward a robust and target-driven strategy to support families and lift them out of poverty.”