A far ranging inquiry into hunger and food poverty in Britain will be led by the Bishop of Truro. and include Falmouth and Truro MP Sarah Newton.

The The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hunger and Food Poverty inquiry will be chaired by the Bishop of Truro, TimThornton, and Frank Field MP, the Chair of the APPG.

The group’s officers, Laura Sandys MP and Sarah Newton MP, will form the core of the inquiry team and will be joined by Emma Lewell-Buck MP, John Glen MP and other members of the APPG.

The preliminary terms of reference will be finalised after a research summit on food poverty on Wednesday April 9, organised by Sarah Newton MP and the Parliamentary Office on Science and Technology.

Frank Field MP said: “The Bishop of Truro, Tim Thornton, and I are bringing forward this inquiry because at long last the debate has taken off.”

The inquiry will be taking evidence on the causes of hunger in Britain, the scope of provision to alleviate it and a comparison with other Western countries.

Regional meetings to gather evidence from poorer people and those engaged in food banks and similar provision are planned in Truro, Merseyside, Tyneside and South Thanet.

A series of background papers will begin to be published from next week.

The APPG on Hunger and Food Poverty was established in October 2013 by Frank Field MP and Laura Sandys MP, in order proactively to investigate the root causes behind hunger, food poverty and the huge increase in demand for food banks across Britain.

The APPG has 40 members spanning all parties and both Houses of Parliament.

Preliminary Terms of Reference for the APPG inquiry:

i. To understand the circumstances behind, and the rise in, the number of food banks in this country;

ii. To look at the geographical spread of food banks and understand more fully who runs them.

iii. To examine access to affordable food and the sustainability of our food model.

iv. To consider alternative sources of food aid provision and the desirability of these bodies becoming permanent features of the welfare state.

v. To ask how adequately food aid providers are meeting immediate and long-term needs.

vi. To investigate the source of food aid providers’ supplies – how much is supplied by consumers and institutions?

vii. To discover the food choices available to clients when using food aid providers.

viii. To make recommendations.