In December 2013, Minister for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith, accused the Trussell Trust of ‘scaremongering’ following the release of new statistics on the number of people turning to food banks for help.
The Trussell Trust kept record of why each user was referred to their food banks. The main reason given was (and remains) benefit delays or welfare reforms.
Iain Duncan Smith accused the Christian voluntary group of being a ‘political organisation’ and stated he didn’t believe food bank usage increased because of welfare reforms.
It was then reported that a warning was given to Chris Mould, Director of Trussell Trust, from an aide to Iain Duncan Smith, where Mould was told the “government might shut you down.”
A month later the DWP altered food bank vouchers so they no longer reported the reason for referral – an attempt to hide whether people were becoming impoverished due to the welfare system. Mould highlighted at the time that food banks could no longer tell who was most in need of help.
Read the full end of year stats from the Trussell Trust here.
