An ongoing theme of this blog is my view that all MPs and Government Ministers should visit the myriad of foodbanks that have sprung up across the country. There cannot be many constituencies without at least one foodbank, and Wealden, currently the 30th safest Conservative seat in the country is no exception. There are at least three foodbanks in the constituency with schemes in Crowborough, Hailsham and the latest in Uckfield. According to recent research carried out by Action in Rural Sussex the cost of living in rural Sussex may be as much as £3,000 per year more than a similar standard of living in nearby urban areas. In part this is due to the lack of public transport in many areas within Sussex. One of the creative elements of the Uckfield foodbank is their willingness to consider delivering food to people who cannot get into the town to collect it from their rural homes. Most foodbanks rely on people visiting the scheme to collect food parcels which enables them to receive advice and support on issues such as fuel poverty and money management. Reversing this model carries a number of challenges, but desperate times call for innovation.

Charles Hendry is the MP for Wealden although he has already announced he will retire from Parliament in 2015. He is married to a member of the Littlewood dynasty and he and his wife famously sold one of their London homes for £4.5M to buy a Scottish Castle. It is safe to say that Charles Hendry does not have any current personal experience of poverty or deprivation! Yesterday Mr Hendry visited the foodbank in Uckfield and spent most of the day in discussions with those running the scheme and people who are benefiting from it. The organisers seemed very impressed by his desire to understand how the scheme operates and the social needs in the area that they are aware of as a result of taking the time to listen to those who are receiving food parcels. Mr Hendry was able to make a number of suggestions regarding the foodbank, that showed to the organisers that he really was listening and understanding their situation and wanting to help.

Before the visit I was able to discuss the plans for the day with some of the people involved in the foodbank. One of the slightly flippant matters that we discussed was the question of whether the MP would bring any food with him as a donation. This did not happen and  this may simply be because the MP did not know what to expect or how such schemes operate ahead of the visit. He certainly understands now, and there is plenty of time for him to bring a donation before he retires to his castle. However the conversation set up a train of thought. At one time, if a local charity was running a fundraising event, they could approach their local MP and if he or she felt the cause worthwhile, they might donate a House of Commons bottle of wine or even whisky to be auctioned or used in a raffle. Let us hope that the bars in the Commons no longer re-label the wine and whisky in any case, but perhaps some of the more socially aware MPs could ensure that all 650 MPs get a briefing to recommend the sort of items that would be most useful for these people to take with them when they do go to their local foodbank for a visit. This will not have the cache of being a signed bottle of House of Commons whisky, but then we are in a time of austerity!

PS – Perhaps when he gets back to the Commons, Charles could speak to David Freud, the Minister responsible for welfare and George Osborne and encourage them to follow his excellent example, and visit a local foodbank. The same encouragement is needed for all MPs who have avoided visiting their local foodbanks.

PPS – Charles Hendry is one of the 10 Sussex MPs who has so far ignored my request to explain how he will engage with charities to explain why he voted for the third reading of the ‘Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2013-14’ He along with all of his colleagues over the next 4 weeks is supposed to be working with Ministers to “consult widely all of the interested parties, members of this House and the many others outside”. I spoke to one of the organisers of the foodbank to ask if he was aware of this proposed new law. The person concerned expressed great disquiet with the legislation and feels the Government are wrong to be confusing charities with those who lobby governments for financial gain. Sadly despite the length of time he was at the foodbank, Mr Hendry never once explained his views, or asked this particular charity how they felt about the impending Law. A disappointing missed opportunity despite the excellent work of this visit!