Almost 8,000 children do not have enough food to eat in Barking and Dagenham, according to new data from London Assembly Labour. 

London Assembly Member for City and East Unmesh Desai is calling on the Government to tackle soaring food prices, energy bills, rents and mortgage rates.

He is demanding an uplift in Londoners' pay or benefits in line with inflation, and the introduction of universal free school meals for all primary and secondary children during term time and school holidays.

Mr Desai said: "It is devastating that children are waking up, going to school, going out to play and going to bed, hungry.

"Reckless inaction by ministers on the cost of living is pushing people towards poverty and putting children's development at risk."

He added: "The financial turmoil caused by botched government budgets is having a crippling impact on public services, homes, livelihoods, and pensions.

"At City Hall I have repeatedly called for the expansion of free school meals. We need government action now. Without it, it will not be a case of choosing between heating or eating - it will leave many Londoners not being able to afford either."

Barking and Dagenham Post: Unmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East, consisting of the City of London and the London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Barking and DagenhamUnmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East, consisting of the City of London and the London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Barking and Dagenham (Image: Unmesh Desai)

The Mayor of London's 2021 to 2022 Survey of Londoners found that 14 per cent of children aged under 16 had "low" or "very low" food security.

That is equivalent to a minimum of 237,000 children across the capital.

New data compiled by London Assembly Labour suggests that 7,941 of these children live in Barking and Dagenham.

An End Child Poverty report found that Barking and Dagenham was among the top ten areas in the UK with the highest levels of child poverty. 

Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney, and Waltham Forest are also in the top ten.

After implementing the biggest interest rate rise in 33 years, the Bank of England has warned that the UK is facing the longest recession since records began.

Last month (October), grocery prices were 14.7 per cent higher than a year ago, driving the average food bill up by £682 a year.

The Food Foundation found that food insecurity had doubled nationally in 2022.

A spokesperson for Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) said: "Countries around the world are facing rising costs, driven by Putin's illegal war in Ukraine, and we know this is affecting people here in the UK.

"The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household around £700 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills roughly by a third.

"In addition, we have provided at least an extra £1,200 of cost-of-living support to 8 million of the most vulnerable households. 

"We've also reversed the rise in national insurance contributions and made changes to Universal Credit to help working households keep more of what they earn."