So, Who Should They Rely On, Kate?

…wait, don’t tell me! It’s ‘the State’, isn’t it?

Kate Bell, from the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “It should not be the case that families have to rely on food banks.”

You’re quite right, of course, but they shouldn’t have to rely on the benefit system either, though. Should they?

Council leader Councillor Liz Green said delays in receiving benefits can hit people hard. She said: “To stop fraud they are doing more checks when you first sign on. It is a balancing act and one I am not sure the Government is getting right at the moment.”

Actually, when it comes to saving the taxpayer’s money, I’m more than happy that they are getting it right, and frankly, they are – at least – doing more than the previous government ever did.

But we need a sob story to illustrate the reality, I suppose?

Former vintage clothes model Deborah Roberts, 55, from Kingston, was referred to the food bank by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau after being hit by the bedroom tax, which is a cut to housing benefit to people with “spare” rooms. She and husband Colin, 50, of Fleetwood Road, were left without enough money to feed their cats, she said, though neighbours stepped in to help.

No longer is it ‘For the children!’, now it’s ‘For the pets!’…

Mrs Roberts said: “Being a disabled woman I need a separate bed from my husband’s bed to get a good night’s sleep.

"My benefit was cut. They say that disabled people have got to go to work. I can’t walk 10 yards without pain.

"They just don’t seem to understand that we’re living on the breadline.”

And you don’t seem to understand that the money’s running out even faster than the patience of the taxpayer. Can’t walk 10 yards without pain? Well, frankly, that’s not a sufficient excuse any more.