THE Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu says the need for foodbanks in the UK is a “scandal” and the current universal credit system is “biased against the poor".

Dr Sentamu, who will retire in 2020, said evidence suggests more working people on low wages have had to use foodbanks, and the fact some poverty-hit people are contracting Victorian-era diseases such as rickets must be urgently addressed.

“It is a scandal we need food banks in such a wealthy nation,” he said during a visit to Liverpool Hope University as part of his weekend in Merseyside for a series of activities called ‘Tell, Serve, Give’.

He is attending a series of events in St Helens and is due to bless runners before starting the GPW Recruitment St Helens 10K on Sunday. 

Last week the Star reported how St Helens Foodbank is running short of supplies following a sharp rise in the number of people who need the service.

Dr Sentamu said: “The evidence is clear that many people using them are working but on poverty wages.

“Unless we do something about it the increase in foodbanks will remains a necessity.

"I give thanks they exist because, as we have seen in some places where diseases like rickets have returned, without them things can go even more wrong."

Last month work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd admitted the increased use of foodbanks is partly down to problems in rolling out universal credit.

Ms Rudd said she was "absolutely clear there were challenges with the initial roll-out" of the benefit and that the difficulty in accessing money was "one of the causes" of the rise.

But she said the government had made changes to help tackle food insecurity.

Dr Sentamu, who took part in a Q&A with students and staff at the ecumenical University’s Hope Park campus, said something must be done to improve the way universal credit works.

“It is actually a good principle in the way it is intended as a one-stop shop, but the way it has been rolled-out is biased against the poor.

“Unless correctly thought through it will play a part in driving people into trouble and debt. I find it shocking that many people experience a break in benefits at present and are made to feel like second class citizens.

Last year The Church of England's second most senior clergyman and the UK's first black archbishop said evidence suggests "many" families have had a "very negative" experience switching to the new benefit payment, adding the case for an overhaul has become "increasingly strong".