Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food

Anthony McCaul is the senior media and campaigns officer for the charity Family Action

Could you live on £2 per day for food? That’s the state of the family finances of some of the parents Family Action supports.

Two-pound-coins The fact that some families have £2 per person per day for food is a stark reality for many – but this hardship is lost on the government.

Whilst politicians are busy squabbling about whether to keep measuring child poverty, mums and dads are trying to feed family members on less than the cost of a cheap packet supermarket sandwich a day.

A few weeks ago I met with parents in this position at one of our services in Lewisham who were fighting to keep afloat.

The parents had multiple problems to deal with, including mental health, domestic abuse, poverty and social isolation. Yet they all wanted to get back to work when they were ready, able and stable.

Desperate to be given the chance to provide and angry at newspaper headlines and politicians labelling them as languishing on the dole, one parent told a story about how a lack of flexible, affordable childcare had meant she was unable to take a job with prospects.

She’d been offered a training place but had to turn it down. Her frustration was palpable and this distress had affected her fragile health.

Insufficient investment in affordable childcare is just one example of the barriers austerity is putting in the way of families improving their fortunes. Families are also facing an onslaught on their finances from rising food, fuel and rental prices; they are in the eye of the austerity storm sweeping Britain.

Ahead of the budget we wanted to give our families the chance to send a message to chancellor George Osborne and today we’re launching our Family Fortunes report (pdf).

We spoke to parents who use our services across England collecting views on how families’ finances are being affected by rising costs and shrinking welfare support.

We heard from a range of parents using our services from Worcester mums very much in the squeezed middle to impoverished black and minority ethnic communities in inner city Bradford as well as young mums from Southend and parents struggling to get back to work in Islington.

Our families report a crash in their family fortunes, leading to despair for the future. Food and fuel prices are putting intense pressure on family budgets and making saving for children’s futures impossible for all.

Key findings of our Family Fortunes report (pdf) show parents prioritising energy bill payments and squeezing fresh fruit and vegetables out of food budgets – with some families spending less than £2 per person per day on food after they’ve paid their bills.

Families feel it is important to save for their children’s future but are unable to do so.

Parents told us child benefit is an essential component of income and day to day household spending for those at the very bottom and the squeezed middle. Housing is also a critical factor – benefit cuts and poor quality accommodation eat into money for other essentials through rent top-ups and massive fuel bills for poorly-insulated homes.

Expensive, scarce childcare and high transport costs coupled with a lack of jobs often mean that even professionally qualified parents are unable to boost their incomes by working, or find that their wages are swallowed up by in-work costs.

All our families gave a clear message to Mr Osborne to step in and protect their incomes as rising food prices fuel inflation, and barriers to getting back to work mean many parents fear for the future.

Families were united in highlighting unaffordable childcare as a major block to getting back to work and making work pay. Families want to save for their children’s future but balancing the household budget does not allow this.

Our #OiGeorge hashtag on Twitter is highlighting some of the key things our families wanted to pass on to the chancellor; here are just a few of the things our families are saying ahead of brandishing of the red box on Budget Day:

“I’ve had a savings account for nearly two years and I can’t afford to put anything in it.”

“Provide more, good quality, cheap childcare.”

“Come and live with some people on low incomes to see what it’s like.”

We hope the chancellor is a family man and is listening to their plight.

You can read our full recommendations in Family Fortunes and Tweet your own messages to the chancellor using the hashtag #FamilyFortunes; you can follow Family Action on twitter at @family_action.

See also:

• Edwina Currie is good at making people cry – Alex Hern, February 16th 2012

• Osborne’s austerity obsession is betraying a generation of young people – William Bain MP, February 16th 2012

• Exposed: The six myths of IDS’s benefits cap – Shamik Das, January 23rd 2012

• The right’s attack on child poverty targets shows their ignorance – Tim Nichols, December 15th 2011

• Currie v Jones: Do people go hungry in Britain? – Alex Hern, November 14th 2011

http://twitter.com/lezwilki/status/176613141474582528 les wilkins,

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/rethink_work/status/176614237299412992 Betty Worker

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food: http://t.co/6V15dpDB reveals @family_action’s @antmccaul
http://twitter.com/peterwoolf57/status/176614649767280640 peter f woolf

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/manx_maid/status/176614909277257728 Stephanie Brooke

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/leftlinks/status/176614952109490176 leftlinks

Left Foot Forward – Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/2fF9i3Qh
http://twitter.com/edwardclarke/status/176614979296960513 Edward Clarke

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/psychoticlynx/status/176615089741377536 Kim Blake

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/woo100/status/176615148071550976 The WOO

“@TheRightArticle: Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person a day for food – http://t.co/xkaudVJT”
How much 4 fonts and sky?
http://twitter.com/woo100/status/176615526360027137 The WOO

“@TheRightArticle: Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/xkaudVJT”How much 4 fones and sky
http://twitter.com/tracyandrab/status/176615725266518016 tracy e

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/clare_noire/status/176619582826622976 Clare Noire

#UK : Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/CDLVSpIz
Anonymous

PLEASE somebody – do the sums with real figures. Hopefully Cameron and his friends can do take-away sums.
http://twitter.com/terypat/status/176621385353936896 Pat DiLorenzo

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/inigem/status/176622349624422401 Glyn Mills

#UK : Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/CDLVSpIz
http://twitter.com/politicalplanet/status/176622555703148545 Political Planet

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food: The fact that some families have £2 per pe… http://t.co/lNdgzDyQ
http://twitter.com/0ctavia/status/176623139759980544 K Carington Smith

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
http://twitter.com/shamikdas/status/176624438022905856 Shamik Das

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food: http://t.co/6V15dpDB reveals @family_action’s @antmccaul
http://twitter.com/britishroses1/status/176624745285042176 BevR

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/tzkmHWGx #spartacus #workfare #nhssavedmylife #democracy
http://twitter.com/skiptonriponclp/status/176625157039853569 Skipton & Ripon CLP

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/tzkmHWGx #spartacus #workfare #nhssavedmylife #democracy
http://twitter.com/jennytwittwoo/status/176625219568533504 Jenny Smith

RT @leftfootfwd: Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/nBk2aqt0
http://twitter.com/atd4thworld/status/176625569797115904 ATD4thWorld

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food: http://t.co/6V15dpDB reveals @family_action’s @antmccaul
http://twitter.com/oilywaters/status/176662639777288192 H. O.

RT @leftfootfwd: Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/TqCmt9MD
http://twitter.com/20rukia10/status/176663058679201793 Forgotten World’s

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food. http://t.co/DNSfXgyE
http://twitter.com/shadesofblackuk/status/176675877650825217 Shades of Black

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/0NgZV8rX
http://twitter.com/jintyg51/status/176677091679539201 Janet Graham

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food: http://t.co/6V15dpDB reveals @family_action’s @antmccaul
Carl Packman

Couple that with recent figures by Credit Action that it costs an average of £28.44 per day to raise a child from birth to the age of 21. No wonder there are spikes in household debt during January (because of Christmas) and September (because of school holidays).
http://twitter.com/jaynelinney/status/176682692769890307 Jayne L

RT @leftfootfwd: Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/GpdUSTpC
http://twitter.com/roadsyde/status/176687594418094081 Roadsyde

This is our budget – we work RT @TheRightArticle: Tory Britain 2012: Some families only £2 per person/day for food – http://t.co/IQGOiiXb
http://twitter.com/_aaronhussey/status/176688326781313025 Aaron Hussey

Very proud of @antmccaul's article on @leftfootfwd as part of @family_action's #OiGeorge campaign – http://t.co/p5lmzPGW
http://twitter.com/delroybooth/status/176692528521809920 Delroy Booth

Tory Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food – http://t.co/hQr9QpcJ
Patrick

Nobody is forced to have children. It’s a choice. And it’s not done out of a noble notion of self sacrifice for society; people have children because they want them. If you can’t afford them, don’t have them. Applying that principle would go a long way to stopping child poverty.
http://twitter.com/cllrkrichards/status/176782965098029057 Kevin Richards

Welcome to 21st century Britian-shameful disgrace: Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/ZfFUOWx0
http://twitter.com/ligomersall/status/176789923460952064 liane gomersall

RT @leftfootfwd: Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/3WIiy7Vq
http://twitter.com/Newsbot9 Newsbot9

Ah I see, so the poor should stop breeding and only the rich should have kids. And you’re quite happy to condem people for the sins of their fathers.

Then you’ll whine about immigration.

Well, by your own reasoning, let’s condemn you because your parents are rich. Same principle. Let’s have some equality around here…
Patrick

You must be aware that the vast majority of people in the UK are defined neither as ‘rich’ nor ‘poor’.

So why do you continually imply that everyone can be categorised into one of these groups?

Re-read my post. I made no mention of ‘rich’ or ‘poor’. A person could be earning above the average wage (£26K) and still not be able to afford children because of their financial commitments. My post is not about people being rich or poor, it’s about personal responsibility, not expecting someone else to pick up the tab.

I have the feeling that you resent anyone with any capital, no matter how they’ve earned it, what sacrifices they made to build it, or where it’s come from. Let me ask you a question:

DO YOU THINK THE FREEDOM TO SAVE AND INVEST IS WRONG?

Say I earn an average wage. Rather than go on holiday and buy new cars I choose to save what I can and invest in the stock market. After 10 years I’ve built up £100K. Does that make me greedy and evil and exploitative? And what moral right do you have to stop people building wealth like this?

Answer those specific questions.
http://twitter.com/raceequality/status/177328084654096384 Race Equality Fdn

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/Fm6x7e7f
http://twitter.com/ref_sfsc/status/177328082573729792 SFSC

Britain 2012: Some families have only £2 per person per day for food http://t.co/82xFTz0X
Ellie

The bigger question is can you live on £1 a day? This is equivalent to the extreme poverty line that 1.4 billion people in the world are currently living under. This is a challenge that will be taken on by people in the UK in May who have signed up to ‘Live Below the Line’ to raise money for various charities such as RESULTS UK.
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/03/look-left-09-03-12/ Look Left – Spotlight shone on legal aid cuts as Clarke urged to think again | Left Foot Forward

[...] Action’s Anthony McCaul wrote about the findings on Left Foot Forward: The fact that some families have £2 per person per day [...]
Steve

People’s incomes and financial circumstances change over time and rarely remain static or, especially in the case of women, uninterrupted. The changes are often through no fault of their own as the present situaion shows. Also, does anyone have a moral right to tell people they shouldn’t have children?