Information obtained by the Welsh Conservatives has found huge differences between the number of food boxes delivered to vulnerable people across Wales.
At the start of April, the Welsh Government wrote to 80,000 people to encourage them to shield from Covid19 and if they were unable to get support for food from family, friends or supermarket deliveries they would be able to access a Welsh Government funded food box.
Out of the 80,000 people who received a letter, some 8,499 individuals have requested a food box. However, the numbers vary widely with just 46 people requesting support in the Gwynedd council area to more than 1,600 in Merthyr Tydfil.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs, Andrew RT Davies AM, said:
“Initially it is great to see that together, within our communities, we are seeming to help the most vulnerable in our society ensuring that they have supplies during their shielding and that they don’t have to rely on Welsh Government support.
“However, the differences are astonishing and with the issues that Welsh Government have had, these figures could be highlighting the impact of the 13,000 letters sent to the wrong individuals incorrectly telling them to shield, and those who were missed.
“We also need to know if people in the areas where the take up is slow, is if the system has worked and everyone is correctly on the shielding list.”