Betsy
Well-Known Member
I heard this on the radio this morning...apparently old news but I wondered if it was well known news...(it wasn't to me so I thought I'd share on here)
I did a search on here but nothing came up
Danny Alexander's mother sets up a food bank...to help the victims of Tory/Lib Dem cuts
June 2, 2013 12:43 PM
THE mother of a senior coalition Minister has taken it upon herself to limit the worst impact of Government cuts by setting up a food bank in her community.
Jane Alexander, mother of Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Danny Alexander, is leading plans to establish a food bank in Aviemore, Inverness-shire.
The food bank network, run by the Trussell Trust, already serves more than 3,500 people a year in the Highlands from a base in Inverness.
The news comes after figures released by Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty show a surge in the number of people forced to turn to food banks.
The disclosure will be an embarrassment to Mr Alexander, whose key position at the Treasury means he is a vital part of forcing through Westminster’s austerity regime, which has been blamed for the hunger crisis. The Government has capped total welfare payments, increased sanctions for people not trying hard enough to find work and has enacted the ‘bedroom tax’, which cuts the benefit payments of council tenants with spare rooms.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday understands Mrs Alexander also took part in an anti-bedroom tax protest in Glasgow’s George Square in March, despite her son being at the forefront of efforts to force through the measure.
Charities say the soaring levels of hunger are partly due to Government cuts, and called on the Government to monitor food poverty more closely.
They estimate more than half a million people a year now turn to food banks, which provide staple fare such as rice, pasta, soup, tinned vegetables, tuna, potatoes and oatcakes.
The Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty report described the rise in food poverty as ‘a national disgrace’ that ‘undermines’ the UK’s commitment to human rights, as it is leaving so many citizens without food.
Yesterday, SNP welfare spokesman Jamie Hepburn said: ‘Even the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s mother recognises the pain and suffering caused by the Westminster system’s policies.
‘It is not acceptable to continue with these draconian cuts when they are pushing families into poverty and hardship.’
He added: ‘Food banks do a vital service but it is unforgivable that this is the state the UK is in. Half a million people being forced to queue up for food donations as a result of the Westminster system’s draconian austerity measures is nothing short of sickening.’
Mrs Alexander is helping to plan the Aviemore food bank and has been a regular volunteer at the Aviemore Community Cafe, which opened in 2011, where she cooks soup once a week for visitors for £1 a cup.
Lorna Dempster, co-ordinator of the Highland Food Bank, said: ‘ Jane Alexander is working to set up a distribution point in the Aviemore area.’
Last week, the Treasury announced that Mr Alexander and Chancellor George Osborne will chair a public expenditure panel which will persuade Ministers to make even deeper cuts to their departments ahead of Westminster’s spending review this month.
The two Ministers are aiming to force through a further £11.5 billion in cuts to department budgets before the next Parliament, of which only £2.5 billion has so far been found.
Mrs Alexander and a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats declined to comment.
http://www.scoop.it/t/scottishpolit...bank-to-help-the-victims-of-tory-lib-dem-cuts
I did a search on here but nothing came up
Danny Alexander's mother sets up a food bank...to help the victims of Tory/Lib Dem cuts
June 2, 2013 12:43 PM
THE mother of a senior coalition Minister has taken it upon herself to limit the worst impact of Government cuts by setting up a food bank in her community.
Jane Alexander, mother of Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Danny Alexander, is leading plans to establish a food bank in Aviemore, Inverness-shire.
The food bank network, run by the Trussell Trust, already serves more than 3,500 people a year in the Highlands from a base in Inverness.
The news comes after figures released by Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty show a surge in the number of people forced to turn to food banks.
The disclosure will be an embarrassment to Mr Alexander, whose key position at the Treasury means he is a vital part of forcing through Westminster’s austerity regime, which has been blamed for the hunger crisis. The Government has capped total welfare payments, increased sanctions for people not trying hard enough to find work and has enacted the ‘bedroom tax’, which cuts the benefit payments of council tenants with spare rooms.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday understands Mrs Alexander also took part in an anti-bedroom tax protest in Glasgow’s George Square in March, despite her son being at the forefront of efforts to force through the measure.
Charities say the soaring levels of hunger are partly due to Government cuts, and called on the Government to monitor food poverty more closely.
They estimate more than half a million people a year now turn to food banks, which provide staple fare such as rice, pasta, soup, tinned vegetables, tuna, potatoes and oatcakes.
The Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty report described the rise in food poverty as ‘a national disgrace’ that ‘undermines’ the UK’s commitment to human rights, as it is leaving so many citizens without food.
Yesterday, SNP welfare spokesman Jamie Hepburn said: ‘Even the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s mother recognises the pain and suffering caused by the Westminster system’s policies.
‘It is not acceptable to continue with these draconian cuts when they are pushing families into poverty and hardship.’
He added: ‘Food banks do a vital service but it is unforgivable that this is the state the UK is in. Half a million people being forced to queue up for food donations as a result of the Westminster system’s draconian austerity measures is nothing short of sickening.’
Mrs Alexander is helping to plan the Aviemore food bank and has been a regular volunteer at the Aviemore Community Cafe, which opened in 2011, where she cooks soup once a week for visitors for £1 a cup.
Lorna Dempster, co-ordinator of the Highland Food Bank, said: ‘ Jane Alexander is working to set up a distribution point in the Aviemore area.’
Last week, the Treasury announced that Mr Alexander and Chancellor George Osborne will chair a public expenditure panel which will persuade Ministers to make even deeper cuts to their departments ahead of Westminster’s spending review this month.
The two Ministers are aiming to force through a further £11.5 billion in cuts to department budgets before the next Parliament, of which only £2.5 billion has so far been found.
Mrs Alexander and a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats declined to comment.
http://www.scoop.it/t/scottishpolit...bank-to-help-the-victims-of-tory-lib-dem-cuts
