Wandsworth Foodbank joins national call on Prime Minister to reconnect housing support with local rents

Wandsworth Foodbank has joined food banks from across the UK in signing an open letter to the Prime Minister, published on Saturday in The Times, calling on the Government to use this autumn’s Budget to reconnect housing support with what it costs to rent a home.

The letter warns that the growing gap between housing support and private rents is pushing more people into hardship, forcing some to choose between paying the rent and buying food.

Wandsworth Foodbank joined the letter because the issue is affecting people across our borough, where many households are struggling to keep up with the cost of renting.

Data from Crisis charity shows that:

• In Battersea, only 0.4% of properties are affordable to rent at the local rate of Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
• In Putney, only 1.4% of properties are affordable to rent at the local rate of LHA.
• In Tooting, only 3.6% of properties are affordable to rent at the local rate of LHA.

At the food bank, we see first-hand how difficult it can be for people to afford both their rent and other essentials. When housing support doesn’t cover the real cost of renting a home, people are often left with impossible choices.

Nobody should need a food bank because housing support doesn’t cover the rent.

That’s why we’ve joined food banks across the country in calling on the Prime Minister to reconnect housing support with local rents at this autumn’s Budget.

The open letter calls on the Government to:

• Reconnect Local Housing Allowance with local rents.

• Commit to maintaining that link in future.

• Ensure housing support helps people afford a home and cover the essentials.

We are also calling on our local MPs, Marsha de Cordova, Fleur Anderson and Rosena Allin-Khan to support the campaign and raise the issue with the Prime Minister ahead of the Budget.

Food banks like ours are there to help people through emergencies, but they cannot fill the gap created when housing support falls short of housing costs. We hope our MPs will support this call and press the Government to act.

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