Over 8k emergency food handouts issued in Lincolnshire in last year
More than 8,600 emergency food parcels were given out by a Lincolnshire foodbank provider in the last year, with many areas of the county noting a significant rise in demand. The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest foodbank network, announced it handed out a record number of meals last year to people in crisis between April 1, 2016 and…
More than 8,600 emergency food parcels were given out by a Lincolnshire foodbank provider in the last year, with many areas of the county noting a significant rise in demand.
The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest foodbank network, announced it handed out a record number of meals last year to people in crisis between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
In Lincolnshire, the number of three-day emergency food parcels increased by 4.4% in total from 8,267 to 8,634.
The highest increase in demand was recorded in Stamford at over 30%.
Boston saw the biggest reduction in food parcel handouts in 2016/17.
Stats did not take into account North and North East Lincolnshire as they are counted separately by the charity.
The full breakdown of the number of food packages issued to people in crisis in Lincolnshire
Charity leaders placed blame on the introduction of the government’s flagship welfare overhaul. They say the rollout of Universal Credit is leaving people unable to afford meals when their benefits were delayed.
The UK government has however said the reasons for food bank use were “complex”. A DWP spokesperson added: “It’s misleading to link them to any one issue.”
This system is yet to be rolled out in full in parts of Lincolnshire.
Bethan Lloyd, programme coordinator for the Lincoln network of Trussell Trust foodbanks, told Lincolnshire Reporter: “In Lincoln we have had a consistently high level of children referred to foodbanks, partly due to the fact that Lincoln has some of the most deprived child poverty areas.
“Child poverty is still an issue in Lincoln. It’s difficult to say the reason why. Each case is very different from the next.
“Nationally the charity is seeing a high number of referrals take place as a result of benefit changes and the roll out of Universal Credit.
“Lincoln is yet to see the affect of this as it’s still in the first stages of change. Universal Credit will be rolled out in full later this year so at the minute we haven’t seen a great deal of impact.
“We’re trying to prepare but we won’t know what hits us until it’s rolled out. Since the country has seen an impact it’s likely.
“We helped around 2,500 people in the last year, a third of whom were children.
“Everything we have is donation based. It’s a bitter sweet situation in that while it’s sad that 2,500 people have needed support in the last year, the other side is that the food is there for them, all provided by kind member of the local community.
“It’s difficult to say what the solution is when each person is in such a unique situation. Drawing attention to the issue is great. There is a forgotten poverty line in the UK.”
The UK region break down of Trussell Trust figures.
David McAuley, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust added: “Foodbanks see first-hand how changes to the welfare system affect people on the ground, and so can offer an early warning to decision-makers.
“We are sharing our early observations with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure any adverse side effects Universal Credit can have on people are addressed before full rollout is completed.”
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A 20-year-old man has been charged after police searched his Lincoln home and found various drugs, including cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines and ketamine.
Officers completed a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act on Newark Road on the evening of Friday, January 15.
The property raided was the address of Henry Lamyman, 20, and he has been subsequently charged with possession of drugs with intent to supply.
He has been charged with six separate drug supply offences, after officers found cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, amphetamine, ketamine and psychoactive substances, namely LSD, at his home.
Police found approximately a kilogram of cocaine, over a kilogram of ketamine, more than 1,000 pills, 800g of cannabis and 270g of amphetamines.
He has also been charged with an offence relating to criminal property, and appeared before Lincoln Magistrates Court on Monday, January 18.
He will now face a trial by jury at Lincoln Crown Court on February 15, and has been bailed until then.
Eighteen residents at a care home near Spilsby died after a six-week coronavirus outbreak, which also led to two staff being treated in hospital.
All 27 residents at The Old Hall at Halton Holegate, which is run by Kesh-Care Limited, tested positive at the same time on November 16, as well as 20 staff.
Sadly, two thirds of the residents died, with most in their 90s, but their ages ranged from 79 to 99, according toThe Guardian.
The first death from coronavirus at the care home was on November 18.
Some of the deaths were so sudden that staff did not have the chance to administer end-of-life treatment or arrange for loved ones to say goodbye.
Two members of staff were so ill they had to be taken to hospital and it is understood that one is still off sick. Some staff moved into a caravan nearby to be around to help.
The care home’s manager Diane Vale said: “The outbreak started on November 16 and lasted around six weeks. All 27 residents tested positive at the same time, as well as 20 out of 28 staff. It was awful, we lost 18 residents altogether.
“I have been a manager for 40 years and have never had to deal with anything like it – it was horrendous.”
She added: “Originally there were no symptoms and the symptoms they tell you to look for, such as a continuous cough or high temperature, there was no indication of that.”
The home’s infection control procedures were validated as safe by regulators at the end of November and it was rated overall as ‘Good’ after its latest inspection on November 24 last year.
This comes after it was revealed that East Lindsey was the district of Lincolnshire that recorded one of the highest weekly number of COVID care home deaths in England in December. 52 people died from coronavirus in the district’s care homes in the five weeks to January 3.
Meanwhile, COVID outbreaks in England’s care homes almost tripled in three weeks to January 10, according to data from Public Health England.
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