Maddy Power, Ruth Patrick, and Kayleigh Garthwaite draw on a project investigating the experiences of low-income households during the pandemic to explain why the Summer Statement fails to support many such families

Garthwaite, Kayleigh

Patrick, Ruth

Power, Maddy

English

LSE Research Online

COVID-19	and	low-income	families:	why	theChancellor’s	‘Eat	Out	to	Help	Out’	offer	is	hard	tostomachMaddy	Power,	Ruth	Patrick,	and	Kayleigh	Garthwaite	draw	on	aproject	investigating	the	experiences	of	low-income	households	during	thepandemic	to	explain	why	the	Summer	Statement	fails	to	support	manysuch	families.‘Eat	out	to	help	out’,	announced	the	Chancellor	in	his	2020	mini-Budget.As	part	of	a	series	of	measures	to	boost	the	economy	amid	the	continuing	economic	fallout	of	the	coronaviruspandemic,	in	August	people	will	be	able	to	get	up	to	£10	per	head	off	meals	and	non-alcoholic	drinks	betweenMonday	and	Wednesday	in	eligible	restaurants,	cafes,	and	pubs.	We	hoped	for	a	New	Deal	but	got	a	Meal	Deal,quipped	some	commentators.Certainly,	the	Chancellor’s	eye-catching	ask	wrapped	up	in	an	offer	will	ring	hollow	to	many	families.	On	Thursday,the	day	after	the	Chancellor’s	statement,	the	Independent	Food	Aid	Network	reported	a	135%	increase	in	thenumber	of	people	supported	by	food	banks	within	its	network	comparing	May	2020	with	May	2019,	including	an85%	increase	in	the	number	of	children	supported.	The	most	common	reason	reported	by	food	banks	for	increasingusage	was,	‘current	benefits	insufficient	to	be	able	to	afford	food’.	This	prompts	the	question,	who	is	theChancellor’s	‘eat	out	to	help	out’	policy	really	for?	And,	linked	to	this,	where	is	the	support	in	the	Chancellor’sSummer	Statement	for	families	who	don’t	have	sufficient	income	to	adequately	feed	themselves,	with	thousandsinstead	having	to	rely	on	emergency,	charitable	forms	of	provision.Our	COVID	Realities	project	includes	work	with	parents	and	carers	living	on	a	low	income	–	individuals	who	maynot	necessarily	benefit	from	the	Chancellor’s	policy	–	to	understand	and	document	their	experiences	during	thecurrent	crisis.	We	are	creating	an	online	space	for	parents	and	carers	to	share	their	everyday	lives	in	these	new	andextraordinarily	difficult	times,	hoping	to	make	sure	that	these	experiences	are	considered	in	the	policy	response.The	COVID	Realities	website	launches	next	week.	But	early	exploratory	work,	in	which	15	parents	and	carerscompleted	diaries	and	online	activities,	underscored	that,	for	many	low-income	families,	the	pandemic	has	placedadditional	pressures	on	already	tight	budgets,	making	day-to-day	life	harder	and	more	stressful.Everyday	budgeting	practices	that	low-income	families	previously	employed	have	suddenly	become	inaccessible	orimpractical.	For	instance,	shopping	in	multiple	supermarkets	for	reduced-price	items	or	the	cheapest	pricessuddenly	became	unfeasible	in	the	early	stages	of	lockdown,	due	to	regulations.	As	a	result,	parents	and	carerswere	often	forced	to	change	where	or	how	they	shop,	which	led	to	higher	costs	of	buying	food	in	particular,	asRoisin,	a	single	parent	to	two	children,	explained:I	have	to	do	my	shopping	in	small	local	shops	so	I	can	lock	my	children	in	the	car	and	watch	them.	Thebutcher’s	and	petrol	station	does	not	have	a	massive	variety	–	prices	are	a	lot	higher	and	smaller	quantities	soour	budget	which	was	overstretched	before	is	not	even	enough	to	last	a	week.Participants	spoke	of	the	additional	costs	lockdown	created	and	the	difficulty	of	meeting	these,	given	their	lowincomes.	Having	children	at	home	for	longer	periods	of	time	directly	incurred	additional	costs	linked	to	having	to	buymore	food,	support	home	schooling,	keep	homes	warm	and	light	for	more	hours	of	the	day,	and	somehow	findmoney	for	leisure	activities.	Sarah,	a	mother	of	two	boys,	wrote:Struggling	with	food	today	though,	my	little	boy	who	is	five	is	always	hungry	so	we	are	going	through	so	muchfood	it’s	like	after	every	meal	he	wants	to	eat	again	and	the	healthy	stuff	costs	a	lot.	He	would	basically	have	afull	punnet	of	strawberries	every	day.	I	ran	out	of	jam,	bread,	eggs,	which	is	the	stuff	I	use	to	fill	him	and	reallycan’t	be	going	shopping	again	till	Sunday.These	particular	challenges	were	especially	acute	for	parents	and	carers	living	in	poverty	before	the	Coronaviruspandemic,	as	Sarah	also	explained:British Politics and Policy at LSE: COVID-19 and low-income families: why the Chancellor’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer is hard to stomach Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-07-10Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/summer-statement-low-income-families/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/All	our	wages	go	on	our	bills	and	food	don’t	really	have	any	spare	especially	since	a	lot	of	my	extra	duties,	suchas	event	work	and	coaching	have	stopped	due	to	covid.	I	know	I	am	lucky	but	its	hard	at	the	minute	boys	needbits	for	school,	paper	etc	and	would	like	to	get	some	more	reading	books	but	prices	have	rocketed	becauseeveryone	is	at	home.	Just	have	to	manage	as	spending	more	on	food.The	additional	strain	of	navigating	(already	low	and	often	inadequate)	budgets,	while	also	managing	childcare	andthe	daily	realities	of	living	during	a	pandemic,	significant	negatively	impacted	upon	the	mental	health	of	affectedfamilies.	Sabira,	a	single	mother	receiving	Jobseeker’s	Allowance,	described	the	struggle	to	remain	positive:Home	schooling	is	very	difficult.	Trying	to	keep	going	on	positively.	Because	of	my	anxiety	and	this	situationmakes	me	not	sleep	at	all	and	then	I	am	tired.	Getting	up	late	in	the	morning	has	no	routine.	Sometimes	I	don’twant	to	do	anything	just	sitting	in	front	of	Tv,	don’t	like	to	cook	and	prefer	junk	take	away.While	emergency	food	aid	was	welcomed	and	often	much	needed,	it	sometimes	also	aggravated	feelings	of“shame”	and	“guilt”	connected	to	parent’s	concerns	around	not	being	ale	to	adequately	feed	their	own	children.Holly,	a	single	parent	of	two	children,	who	had	recently	been	moved	from	Income	Support	to	Universal	Credit,spoke	of	the	feelings	of	“disgust”	she	felt	in	herself	after	receiving	an	emergency	food	parcel	that	included	inedibleitems:It’s	emotionally	difficult	to	think	I’ve	been	reduced	to	asking	for	stale	and	mouldy	bread.	I	feel	guilty	for	needingto	access	such	assistance,	I	feel	guilty	for	binning	some	of	the	produce	given	(my	logic	being	that	foodpoisoning	could	weaken	my	kiddies	immune	systems	and	make	them	more	at	risk	of	the	virus,	better	to	gowithout	bread	than	to	risk	getting	ill	by	it).	And	I	feel	shame.	At	that	moment,	I	felt	disgusted	at	myself.	Whatkind	of	mother	does	it	make	me?These	early	findings	from	our	COVID	Realities	project	starkly	reveal	the	immense	difficulties	that	low-incomefamilies	face	at	this	current	time.	We	found	that	the	normal	strategies	that	parents	and	carers	on	a	low	incomeemploy	to	get	by	have	been	tested	by	the	unique	circumstances	of	lockdown,	with	budgets	further	stretched	by	theadditional	costs	of	having	children	at	home.	Many	(if	not	most)	low-income	families	simply	cannot	stretch	alreadyvery	tight	budgets	to	‘eating	out’.	The	Chancellor’s	request	for	families	to	do	their	bit	to	support	our	ailing	hospitalitysector	by	heading	out	to	the	nation’s	cafes	and	restaurants	for	many	only	compound	existing	feelings	of	shame,guilt	and	exclusion	so	often	associated	with	poverty.What	was	very	clear	from	our	study	was	that	participants	desperately	needed	additional	income	to	meet	theireveryday	costs.	A	response	to	this	need	was	completely	absent	from	the	Chancellor’s	statement	and,	associated,financial	package	of	support.	Along	with	project	partners	Child	Poverty	Action	Group,	we	are	calling	for	an	increaseto	Child	Benefit	of	£10	per	child	per	week	to	help	families	cope	with	the	additional	costs	caused	by	the	pandemicand	its	economic	and	social	consequences.	But	we	are	also	asking	government	and	policymakers	to	look	at	howthe	experiences	and	perspectives	of	people	living	on	a	low	income	are	themselves	better	included	in	policymakingdecisions	and	debates.	The	‘eat	out	to	help	out’	policy	suggests	there	is	still	a	long	way	to	go	before	policy	canbetter	reflect	and	–	critically	–	respond	to	the	perspectives	and	experiences	of	families	in	poverty._______________________Note:	The	project	on	which	the	above	draws	has	been	funded	by	the	Nuffield	Foundation,	but	the	views	expressedare	those	of	the	authors	and	not	necessarily	the	Foundation.About	the	AuthorsMaddy	Power	is	a	Research	Fellow	in	the	Department	of	Health	Sciences	at	the	University	of	York.		British Politics and Policy at LSE: COVID-19 and low-income families: why the Chancellor’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer is hard to stomach Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-07-10Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/summer-statement-low-income-families/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Ruth	Patrick	is	Lecturer	in	Social	Policy	&	Social	Work	at	the	University	of	York.			Kayleigh	Garthwaite	is	a	Birmingham	Fellow	in	the	Department	of	Social	Policy,	Sociology	andCriminology	at	the	University	of	Birmingham.			All	articles	posted	on	this	blog	give	the	views	of	the	author(s),	and	not	the	position	of	LSE	British	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.	Featured	image	credit:	by	Thought	Catalog	onUnsplash.British Politics and Policy at LSE: COVID-19 and low-income families: why the Chancellor’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer is hard to stomach Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-07-10Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/summer-statement-low-income-families/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

Covid-19 and low-income families: why the chancellor’s ‘eat out to help out’ offer is hard to stomach

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Covid-19 and low-income families: why the chancellor’s ‘eat out to help out’ offer is hard to stomach

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