To ask the Minister for Communities for her assessment of (i) the current demand for independent support services such as foodbanks; and (ii) how this demand has changed over the previous three years.

My current assessment of the demand of independent support services such as foodbanks is that whilst demand has fallen from the peak of the pandemic it is on the rise again as a result of the cost of living crisis

The Trussell Trust operates the largest network of foodbanks here and gathers and publishes statistics on usage. https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/end-year-stats/

The figures show that in 2019/20 just over 45,000 food parcels were issued. This increased to almost 79,000 during 2020/21 and whilst usage in 2021/22 shows a decrease to just under 62,000 from they remain 36.5% higher than in 2019/20.