Knowsley Council has backed a campaign to make access to food a legal right following calls from a Liverpool MP to create a “right to food”.
The local authority voted unanimously on Wednesday evening to approve a motion calling on the government to put the right to food at the heart of its National Food Strategy and pass a law making access to food a legal right.
The move follows a similar vote in January by Liverpool City Council, which became the first city in the country to back West Derby MP Ian Byrne’s campaign for the right to food.
Introducing the motion on Wednesday, Knowsley cabinet member Sean Donnelly said it gave him “no pleasure” to put forward the proposals but the government’s record on inequality made it necessary.
He said: “Because of this government’s ideology and - let’s call it what it is - contempt for places like Knowsley and the people who live here, the sad fact is that a high proportion of our local residents are in food poverty.
“Last year, the pandemic compounded existing financial pressures on local people, pressures which were often driven by national policy decisions disproportionately impacting areas like Knowsley.
“As a result, the number of Knowsley residents who required emergency food parcels and other support increased by over 150% compared to the year before.
“I am sure you will all agree that that is not good enough, that people facing financial hardship in Knowsley and across the entire country deserve better, and that government needs to act to ensure people facing food poverty can count on their support.”
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The campaign, launched alongside the group Fans Supporting Foodbanks, aims to make the right to food part of the government's National Food Strategy.
That strategy is the first independent review of England's entire food system for 75 years and aims to identify the food system the country needs to build for the future.
Both the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester have already backed the campaign along with around 20 other local authorities and a petition signed by 46,000 people.
However, the government’s response to the petition last week was criticised by MPs for failing to actually address its demands.
