Fiona's letter as appeared in the Chronicle:

"Dear Sir,

A letter last week from ‘Cassandra’ raised the issue of food poverty and called on me to take action to challenge the Government to address this.

This is something which deeply concerns me, and I also share some of the concerns that many people, including the writer of that letter, have had regarding the roll-out of Universal Credit, which is why I have already taken action.

Ahead of last month’s Budget, I lobbied the Chancellor, along with a small group of other Conservative MPs, to raise the Universal Credit Work Allowance threshold – the level of income at which benefit support begins to reduce. I have now placed on my website a copy of the letter we sent to the Chancellor at the time (www.fionabruce.org.uk).

Our campaign was successful, with the Chancellor doing exactly that, and committing in his Budget to raise this level by £1,000. This means that 2.4 million families with children and people with disabilities on the lowest of incomes will have £630 per year more in their pockets.

There is always more to do and I am committed to that, but I hope this particular change will make a real difference to many.

Finally, as a long-standing supporter, I just want to pay tribute to all the volunteers who support food banks, especially at this time of year.

Yours sincerely,

Fiona Bruce MP"