Debate contribution: Cost-of-living Increase: Impact

Debate contribution by Mr Andy Allen MBE on 17 November 2025.

MLA

Mr Andy Allen MBE

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

17 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Cost-of-living Increase: Impact

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5245785

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Our amendment is offered in a constructive spirit. The motion rightly highlights the pressures that households face, and we support its intention. The amendment would complement it by adding a particular focus on an issue that is becoming increasingly urgent: the rising cost of food and growing food insecurity. Headline inflation may have eased somewhat, but, for many families, the pressure has not. The essential items that people rely on week in, week out have not returned to previous prices. Food costs remain significantly higher, and, while some products appear unchanged, the reality of shrinkflation means that households get less for the same money or, in many cases, pay more for less. Those changes may appear minor in isolation, but, for families who are already stretched to the limit, the cumulative impact is substantial. That is why we have also highlighted the recent decision by the Education Authority (EA) to increase the cost of school meals. A 50p rise — an increase of around 20% — may not seem significant to some, but, for many families who are already under pressure, it will hit hard. Some will point to the fact that school meal prices have not risen since 2017. I commend all involved for keeping costs down for so long, but we will hear throughout today's debate why increasing them now, against the backdrop of severe cost-of-living pressures, is the wrong approach and one that sits uneasily with the aims of an anti-poverty strategy. Mr Deputy Speaker, I, perhaps, should have declared an interest as a father with three school-age children. Balancing the books on the backs of those who are already struggling is not a sustainable or fair way of tackling poverty. There is a crossover from the previous debate. When products become more expensive to move, the pressures show up in the cost and availability of those everyday products. Those costs do not fall evenly across society; low-income households feel them most. The evidence is stark. Around 520,000 people, including 130,000 children, in Northern Ireland are in food insecurity. In the past year, as we have heard from the Communities Committee Chair, 77,000 emergency food parcels were issued. Those referred to food banks were living on an average of £171 a week after housing costs, which is roughly 30% of an ordinary household's income, and most had no savings. The overwhelming majority were already in debt or arrears. Those are not exceptional cases. They reflect the everyday reality of too many people across Northern Ireland. At the human level, we all know what that looks like. A recent BBC report featured a working mother who said that she regularly skips meals so that her daughter has enough to eat. She summed it up simply by saying, "My daughter comes first". That sentiment is familiar to many parents who are quietly making sacrifices not because of poor choices but because the cost of feeding a family has outpaced their income. Those pressures are especially visible in our schools. For many children, the school meal may be the most reliable and nutritious meal of their day. When the cost of school meals increases, families who are already struggling face even greater difficulty. Hunger affects behaviour, concentration and learning, and it can affect the entire classroom environment. That is why our amendment emphasises the importance of:

"affordable access to food, including school meals"

as a central part of:

"tackling child poverty and reducing health inequalities".

The Programme for Government acknowledges the clear link between poverty, education and long-term health. Alongside that, we call on the Minister of Education to review the recent increase in school meal costs and consider whether the current eligibility threshold for free school meals remains appropriate. Many families sit just above the threshold but cannot absorb the rising costs of food. Supporting those families would be a fair and practical step that directly benefits children. Food pressures are part of a wider picture, and fuel poverty remains a major concern. As we have already heard, National Energy Action NI has reported that nearly half of households are worried about their energy bills this winter; 39% are already in fuel poverty; and one in five households have gone without heat or power at least once in the last two years because they could not afford it. A quarter of households say that rising energy costs are harming their health and well-being, and those figures underline why robust anti-poverty and fuel poverty strategies with clear, measurable and time-bound targets are not just helpful but necessary. I acknowledge the work that the Minister has taken forward. He has moved the strategy further than many of his predecessors — it is fair to say that — and he has made progress in other areas, such as fuel poverty. That should be recognised and commended, but the scale and seriousness of the challenges mean that the final strategies must be as robust and ambitious as possible. There must be clear outcomes and measurable targets to give the strategies structure, direction, credibility and transparency. Families and organisations need to see where progress is made and where further action is required. The voluntary and community sector also deserves recognition, and I declare an interest as a charity trustee. They are often the first to see the pressures facing families, and they support thousands of people every week. They contribute an estimated £1·71 in value for every pound that is invested, yet the sector reports rising demand, recruitment difficulties and burnout among its staff. If we want to properly support the voluntary and community sector, we must address the pressures that drive people to its doors, including food and fuel insecurity, and our amendment reinforces that link. I acknowledge the pressures on unpaid carers. Northern Ireland has around 220,000 unpaid carers who provide support that saves the Executive an estimated £5·8 billion per year, yet they are among the groups most affected by rising costs. One in four carers lives in poverty, and, of those who receive carer's allowance, the number rises to almost half. Many carers are cutting back on the essentials, including food and heating. The anti-poverty strategy is important work, but, to meet the scale of the challenges that we face, it needs firm, measurable, cross-departmental targets, particularly on food and fuel poverty, that are time-bound, transparent and informed by data and lived experience. That will help ensure that the strategy makes an impact rather than becoming a document filled with aspirations but lacking in delivery. The amendment strengthens the motion by highlighting one of the most fundamental pressures that households face: the ability to afford food. It aligns with the motion's recognition of the vital work of the voluntary and community sector; it supports the call for a revised anti-poverty strategy; and it identifies practical, realistic actions that can be taken now to help families, particularly through the school system. The cost-of-living crisis is not experienced through statistics alone; it is felt in households making choices that no one should have to make, parents skipping meals, children arriving at school hungry and families rationing heat and power. While we cannot control every global event, we can take decisions here that improve the circumstances of those who rely on us, and that is the purpose of the amendment. In that spirit, I commend the amendment to the Assembly.

1,232 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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