On Thursday 26 June, 2025, representatives from Southend Foodbank, Cass Francis and Jemma Walsh, traveled to Westminster to meet with Southend’s MPs, David Burton-Sampson and Bayo Alaba, during Trussell’s national Lobby Day. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the growing hardship faced by people on the lowest incomes and to urge both MPs to support the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, led by Trussell and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
At the heart of the campaign is a call for an independent review to determine the true cost of covering life’s essentials in the UK today. Currently, the basic rate of Universal Credit has no link to actual living costs (excluding rent and council tax) and falls far short of what people need to survive. This has been highlighted by the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee, which found that, even with recent increases, the same amount is being spent on benefits for working-aged people as was in 2007.
During their meeting with the MPs, Cass and Jemma stressed the urgency of the situation and urged them to advocate for increasing the basic rate of Universal Credit to £120 per week for a single adult and £205 per week for a couple. While upcoming changes in the Benefits Reform Bill promise incremental increases to Universal Credit, these won’t be fully implemented until 2029/30 and will still lack any tie to the actual cost of living.
The representatives also raised concerns about deductions from Universal Credit payments, highlighting the importance of a Minimum Income Floor – a limit on how much the government can deduct from payments. While the maximum deduction rate has recently been reduced from 25% to 15%, Southend Foodbank supports going further, in line with evidence from an independent review.
In response to the upcoming second reading in Parliament for the UC & PIP Bill, Cass Francis, Comms & Campaigns Coordinator at Southend Foodbank, stated, “It was a privilege to speak face to face with both of Southend’s MPs and to hear their thoughts on the Essentials Guarantee. No one should be forced to go without the basics they need to survive. Universal Credit must reflect the true cost of living.”
Francis continued, “As you can imagine, we at the Foodbank, along with Trussell, JRF, and many other organizations, are extremely concerned about the proposed £5 billion in welfare cuts aimed at the benefits received by people with disabilities. We are urging everyone to write or email their MP and ask them to vote against these reforms.”
According to Trussell’s analysis, 440,000 disabled people and their families will be forced into severe hardship by the proposed cuts, which will be devastating for them and push many more people to the doors of food banks like Southend’s. The Guarantee Our Essentials campaign is a crucial step in ensuring that everyone has access to the essentials they need to survive, regardless of their income.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.