Government should appoint Minister for Hunger to tackle its failure on issue, says Committee

• Food insecurity is significant and growing in the UK, with levels among the worst in Europe, especially for children.
• Government has failed to recognise and respond domestically – and has allowed these issues to ‘fall between the cracks’.

• Government obesity strategy is silent on food insecurity.
• Minister for Hunger should be appointed to ensure cross-departmental action.

The Government has failed to recognise and respond to the issues of hunger, malnutrition and obesity in the UK and should appoint a minister to ensure cross-departmental action, says the Environmental Audit Committee.

Its new report, Hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the UK, published today, focuses on the Government’s commitment to deliver UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger. The second half of the report reviews its broader progress against the domestic implementation of the SDGs.

The report finds that food insecurity in the UK, defined as “limited access to food… due to lack of money or other resources”, is significant and growing. Levels are among the worst in Europe, especially for children, with 19% of under 15s living with an adult who is moderately or severely food insecure. The Committee heard how food insecurity can lead to both malnutrition and obesity, with people forced to rely on the very cheapest foods, which are often nutrient-poor but calorie-rich. The Government’s obesity strategy makes no mention of food insecurity and only the Department for International Development mentions hunger in its Single Departmental Plan.

MPs call on the Government to appoint a Minister for Hunger, to ensure cross-departmental understanding and action on this important issue. It must engage with civil society to analyse the scale, causes and impacts of food insecurity in the UK, implement strategies for improvement and monitor progress.

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Mary Creagh MP, said:

“Many of us are still recovering from Christmas excess but the sad fact is that more children are growing up in homes where parents don’t have enough money to put food on the table.

“The combination of high living costs, stagnating wages and often, the rollout of Universal Credit and the wider benefits system, means that levels of hunger in Britain are some of the highest across Europe. We found that nearly one in five children under 15 are living in a food insecure home – a scandal which cannot be allowed to continue. 

“Instead of seeing hunger as an issue abroad, the Government’s New Year resolution should be one of taking urgent action at home to tackle hunger and malnutrition. This can only be addressed by setting clear UK-wide targets and by appointing a Minister for Hunger to deliver them.”

ENDS

Key conclusions and recommendations:

Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the UK

• Food insecurity is a significant issue in the UK, with levels amongst the worst in Europe, especially for children, with 19% of under 15s living with an adult who is moderately or severely food insecure, of whom half are severely food insecure. Particularly vulnerable groups include the unemployed, those in the lowest income quartile, people with disabilities or illnesses, families with children, and single parents. Surges in demand for emergency food aid have been linked to Universal Credit, due to waiting times, delays in payments, debt and loan repayments, and benefit sanctions. (Paragraph 51)
• Despite the need for joined-up cross-government action, hunger and food insecurity has fallen between the cracks in Government plans. Government continues to see hunger and food insecurity as overseas issues, with DFID the only Department to include them in its Single Departmental Plan. The Committee is concerned at the Government's turning a blind eye to UK hunger and its lack of progress in measuring and acting on hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the UK. Performance is unlikely to improve in the UK and reach the SDG targets for SDG2 unless significant and co-ordinated action is taken. (Paragraph 52)
• The issues of food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition and obesity should be considered in parallel in the UK context. They are often co-located and share causal factors. The Government does not fully understand the relationship between food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition. By addressing obesity in isolation, it is missing the opportunity to effect widespread change. (Paragraph 53)
• The Committee recommends that the Government appoint a minister with responsibility and accountability for combatting hunger and food insecurity within the UK. They should work with civil society to explore the scale, causes and impact of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; implement strategies for improvement, and monitor progress. (Paragraph 55)
• The Committee recommends that targets for ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms are included in Single Departmental Plans. To be effective, targets in the SDPs must include UK-wide metrics, for hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, and set out specific mechanisms for action if performance is poor. Individual targets should make explicit links to Departments with responsibility for policies which contribute to the delivery of the primary goal, for example, reducing food waste (SDG12) and monitoring the living wage, in respect of goals 2.1 and 2.2. (Paragraph 56)
• The Committee recommends that the Government update its obesity strategy to take account of the close relationship between obesity, hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in the UK. The Committee supports the call from the Patients Association for Government to create a definition of under-nutrition which includes both underweight and overweight individuals, and a tool for identifying it. (Paragraph 57)