PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Food Banks (15 July 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the signposting of claimants to local food banks is in the form of (a) pieces of paper, (b) other written communication, or (c) verbal communication; and whether any written communication provided is directly transferable at a food bank for food.

Asked by:
Mark Tami (Labour)

The decision to award a food parcel is a matter for the food bank alone. The Department for Work and Pensions has long-standing guidance in place which allows staff to signpost claimants in writing to a food bank, using a nationally agreed signposting slip, where claimants have asked for information, and if all sources of statutory support have been exhausted.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, Jobcentres have been encouraged to take a flexible and innovative approach in their arrangements for signposting claimants to foodbanks, within the parameters of the existing guidance.

Answered by:
Will Quince (Conservative)
24 July 2020