Last month on the 18^th June, for the first time ever, the Bristol Poverty Institute (BPI) joined more than 700 people, including people experiencing severe hardship, volunteers at other food banks and community food organisations, and people across the anti-poverty sector, to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, creating an historic lobby at Parliament as part the Guarantee our Essentials campaign.

Right now, 9.3 million people – including more than three million children – are facing hunger and hardship across the UK, uniting community organisations, Trussell, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), Feeding Britain, Salvation Army, the BPI and Local Pantries to travel to London on June 18.

The BPI joined people from all four nations of the UK in Westminster, and met our MPs to speak out against the levels of severe hardship being seen in our local areas, and urged policymakers to play their part in delivering urgent and meaningful change to our social security system.

We are calling for steps towards an Essentials Guarantee which would ensure Universal Credit is fit for purpose, helping to prevent people from having to use a food bank. This means moving closer to a guarantee that the basic rate of Universal Credit provides enough to ensure people are at least able to afford the essentials we all need to get by, such as food and bills.

To emphasise, the campaign’s key asks were (amongst others):

1. Bring in the full boost to the basic rate of Universal Credit from April 2026, not April 2029. (The boost is currently scheduled to be a £5 a week increase from April 2029, on the rate which is £92 per week for a single adult at present (bringing it to £97 per week). Independent analyses shows it should be £120 a week for a single adult to cover the cost of essentials.)
2. Ensure the UK government seeks independent advice on setting the basic rate of Universal Credit, including how best to cover essential living costs.
3. Bring in an initial low-level protected minimum floor in Universal Credit to limit all deductions, not just some.

Further campaign information: Joseph Rowntree Foundation Essentials Guarantee

The event took place on the same day the UK government published its draft welfare reform bill, and millions of the UK public nervously waited to hear how MPs would vote on £7 billion worth of cruel cuts to disabled people’s social security payments. These cuts would have pushed 440,000 more people in disabled households into severe hardship, according to Trussell research. Fortunately, the bill was voted down and has since been scaled back considerably. We are proud to say that one of the successes of the lobby day was this result.

Shockingly, three in four people who come to food banks in the Trussell community are disabled or live with someone who is because disability payments for too many people already fall short of covering the essentials like food and heating. Too many people are falling behind on bills, are becoming trapped in debt, and are having to live in cold, damp homes.

We consistently hear from our partners such as Feeding Bristol and the North West Food Bank that foodbanks are under constant pressure with growing numbers attending. They consider themselves the ‘fourth emergency service’ which is a terrible title and one that should not fall on the shoulders of the community. The latest research from University of Bristol paints a similar picture:

• A recent research paper - Baker, W., Knight, K., and Leckie, G. (2024). Feeding Hungry Families: Food banks in schools in England.
• A recent piece (11^th June) on child poverty and the recent policy change extending free school meals to all children living in households in receipt of free school meals.
• Schools in England are running food banks for families
• Baker, W. (2023). Schools and food charity in England. Much of the data in this research came from the Bristol area.

We cannot continue to hold back the tide of hunger and hardship and need MPs to take urgent and meaningful action for their communities. With lifechanging, although now scaled back, cuts on the horizon, it is more important than ever that Universal Credit protects people from severe hardship.

We told our MPs – including Carla Denyer and Claire Hazelgrove that the BPI met on the day - that this can and must change. We urged them to play their part and join Trussell, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), and more than 100 charities, in calling on the UK government to create an Essentials Guarantee.

Emma Revie, chief executive at anti-poverty charity Trussell, said:

“With more than 700 of us travelling to Westminster, we couldn’t send a more powerful and clear message to our MPs and to the UK government. We will not stand by while 9.3 million of us are facing hunger and hardship. People who have experienced severe hardship, people who work in food banks and from community organisations, as well as charity partners, have gathered from all over the UK, to call for a stronger social security system.”

“It’s time for the UK government to act, and take steps towards creating an Essentials Guarantee to ensure Universal Credit is fit for purpose and protects everyone that needs it.”

Posts and pictures from the lobby day can be seen on the BPI’s Bluesky feed.