DAVID Mundell has been urged to visit a food bank in his capacity as Scottish Secretary for the first time – almost 560 days into the job.
Mundell, the only Tory MP in the country, gained the role following the last general election and opened a Trussell Trust food bank in Dumfries in July.
His attendance drew protesters critical of the UK Government’s welfare reforms, who said he was guilty of hypocrisy and shouted “shame on you”.
Mundell, who previously said food bank use was not linked to austerity cuts, entered and left the premises by the back door. Staff later said he had attended “as a constituency MP”.
Now the head of the Trussell Trust in Scotland and campaigning MP Alison Thewliss have urged Mundell to visit in his official role as Scottish Secretary.
The call comes after the latest figures show more Scots are being pushed below the breadline, with 63,794 emergency packs of supplies handed out between April and September in an “epidemic of hunger”.
Ewan Gurr, the charity’s Scotland network manager, said close contact between senior ministers and organisations on the frontline of the hunger crisis is “absolutely crucial”.
Calling for an official visit from the Scottish Secretary on a biannual basis, Gurr said: “When you’re looking at the security and wellbeing of an entire nation you need to be looking at connecting with the people.
“Visiting a food bank is where you’re going to see how robust and resilient your social security system is. I’d be happy to accompany him.”
Gurr, who invited Mundell to the Dumfries food bank, praised his performance as a constituency MP and said he had resolved one of three cases passed to him by the charity.
He went on: “This is a guy who sits at the right hand of Theresa May. If I’m seeing the impact the policies have, I have to tell him in a diplomatic but transparent way.”
Gurr continued: “Often politicians are not aware of what’s going on. I can tell the stories of the young mums having to give up breastfeeding after eight weeks because of malnutrition, or the father or four who tried to take his own life twice in 18 months, or the young girl unable to get sanitary products because malnutrition meant she had been unable to get her period for seven months.
“I want our politicians to be kept awake by these stories until we get a social security system that works.”
In a written answer to a parliamentary question posed by Thewliss, Mundell said: “I have not visited a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.”
In a letter to Mundell, Thewliss said she is “surprised” by this, adding: “Data from the Trussell Trust shows that the top three reasons people visit food banks are because of benefit delays, low income and benefit changes – arguably three problems caused by the policies of the government which you seek to represent in Scotland.”
Commenting, she said: “You would be forgiven for thinking that Scotland’s Secretary of State would be keen to visit food banks and find out how the government might better support people and reduce food bank usage. It beggars belief that Mr Mundell has been Secretary of State for 554 days but the Scotland Office hasn’t thought to organise a ministerial visit to a foodbank.”
The Scotland Office did not respond to a request for comment.
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