Welfare changes such as universal credit and the bedroom tax are a key factor in the sharp increase in food bank use and the re-emergence of extreme poverty in the UK over the past seven years, an academic study has concluded.

According to the research, there is “clear and robust evidence” that people struggling on the lowest rungs of the income ladder are pushed rapidly into destitution when their already tight budgets are broken by benefit payment delays, cuts, deductions or sanctions.

The study found five key welfare policies – the rollout of universal credit, increases in benefit sanctions, the bedroom tax, the benefits freeze and the withdrawal of disability benefits – had “sizeable and significant effects” in pushing up demand for food parcels.

One in 50 UK households used a food bank in 2018-19, the study estimated, while at least 3m food parcels were given out – highlighting the rise in charity welfare and the impact of austerity cuts since the start of the decade, when only a small number of food banks existed.

The study calculated the average income of households using food banks was £50 a week after rent. Nine out of 10 people referred to food banks were destitute, meaning they struggled to afford to eat regularly, clothe or clean themselves or their families, the study found.

The State of Hunger 2019 report was compiled by Heriot-Watt University academics for the Trussell Trust food bank charity. The year-long study examined how many people were affected by hunger, who was most affected and what drove people to food banks.

Universal credit wait fuels poverty and food bank use, says research Read more

The Trussell Trust chief executive, Emma Revie, called on ministers to make urgent changes to the benefits system, including removing the five-week wait for a first universal credit payment and uprating the value of benefits. “Hunger in the UK isn’t about food – it’s about people not having enough money,” she said.

The links between welfare changes, food bank use and destitution have been fiercely contested in recent years, with the government for the most part refusing to acknowledge clear evidence of any association between extreme poverty and welfare policies that have cut tens of billions of pounds from the benefits budget.

Quick guide Poverty in the UK Show Hide How many people are affected by poverty in the UK? More than 4 million people in the UK are trapped in deep poverty, meaning their income is at least 50% below the official breadline, locking them into a weekly struggle to afford the most basic living essentials. Seven million people, including 2.3 million children, are affected by 'persistent poverty', meaning they were not only in poverty but had been for at least two of the previous three years. The figures were calculated by experts from across the political spectrum who make up the Social Metrics Commission, set up in 2016 to develop a new way of measuring poverty. What are the definitions of poverty in the UK? In cash terms, the Social Metrics Commission says 'deep poverty' is considered to be a couple with two children who have an income of less than £211 a week after housing costs, or a single parent with one child on less than £101.50 a week. A 'destitution' level of income is £140 a week for a couple with two children. How have poverty rates changed in the UK? Although overall rates of poverty have changed relatively little since 2000-01, certain groups – such as children, children of lone parents, and pensioners – have had hardship levels rise since 2013 as a result of austerity measures such as the benefit freeze, reversing earlier downward trends. There has been a dramatic rise in child poverty in families with three or more children, up 9% points since 2013-14. How does having a disability affect poverty rates? Disability is one of the strongest predictors of being in poverty. Nearly half of all those living below the breadline live in a household where someone is disabled. How does being in work affect poverty rates? Work is no longer a guarantee of protection against poverty. The proportion of people with a job who live in poverty went up for the third consecutive year in 2018 to a record high. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said that while paid employment reduces the risk of poverty, about 56% of people living in poverty were also in a working household in 2018, compared with 39% 20 years ago. Seven in 10 children in poverty are now in a working family Patrick Butler Social policy editor

The research, however, concluded food bank use was “driven by economic need”, noting those dependent on charity food parcels were typically also in poor health, exposed to challenging life experiences such as loss of a job or divorce, and lacked access to informal family support.

For nearly nine out of 10 food bank users, state benefits were a main source of income, and low or interrupted benefit payments were the main trigger of food bank demand. Universal credit, which requires new claimants to wait at least five weeks without income, is identified as the key driver of food bank reliance.

The study estimated that for every 100 claimants moving on to universal credit in a year, an additional 27 food parcels were issued compared with the predecessor benefit. For every 100 households subject to the bedroom tax, an additional 68 parcels were given out. There were 31 extra food parcels distributed for every 100 benefit sanctions.

The withdrawal or refusal of disability benefits had a significant effect on food bank use, with every 100 failed personal independence payment assessments in a year associated with the distribution of an extra 93 food parcels.

The study’s analysis of food bank users found most were in extreme poverty. Average food bank user income was 11% of the UK median income, equivalent to £215 a month (£7 a day) after housing costs for a couple without children. This compared with official relative poverty line income of £262 a week.

Hunger and food bank use affected women disproportionately: they were twice as likely to be food insecure as men, because they were more likely to skip meals so their children could eat, while single mothers accounted for about a fifth of all food bank users.

Poor mental health affected more than half of households using food banks, while 23% of people referred to food banks were homeless – mainly in temporary accommodation or sofa-surfing. Few pensioners used food banks – an indicator, say researchers, of the relative generosity of state pensions in recent years compared with working-age benefits.

More than three-quarters of households who used food banks were in arrears, with nearly half of these behind on two or more bills – most commonly rent and council tax. Geographically, food bank usage is most concentrated in former industrial areas of the north and Midlands as well as some coastal towns and London boroughs.

The study drew on official data as well as food bank statistics and interviews with food bank managers and users, and agencies who refer people to food banks. It measured demand for food parcels while factoring in the rise in the number of food banks in recent years. There are now at least 2,000 in the UK.

The study punctured some myths about food banks, such as they were mainly used by refugees and migrants or exploited by people who were not in real poverty. Just 14% were from households where at least one person was in work, while nine out of 10 described themselves as white and UK-born.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We take this report very seriously and continue to work closely with the Trussell Trust on this important issue. We spend more than £95bn a year on the welfare safety net, but we continue to make improvements to get people the support they need and prevent them falling through the cracks.

“Already we have simplified the benefits system with universal credit, making it easier for people to access support. And this week we have announced working-age benefits will rise in line with inflation from April, giving millions of people more money in their pockets.”