This past week has seen more debate around welfare reform and food banks with comments made by the new Cardinal Nichols and a letter signed by Anglican bishops about the alleged impact of benefit reforms.

While I always welcome contributions from church leaders, I think it is important that arguments against benefit reforms are first, based on facts and second, are viewed in the context of the tens of billions of pounds taxpayers spend on supporting people who are in need.

To recap, this Government has proposed that total benefits should be capped at the national average level of income for a family of £26,000; one that is higher than the average income earned by people living in the Devizes Constituency.

This Government also increased benefit payments at the rate of inflation in the first year in Parliament – an annual increase of more than five per cent, or well in advance of pay rises for those in work.

Since the election, delays and errors in benefit payments have dropped substantially and now more than 90 per cent of benefits are paid accurately and on time, while the new Universal Credit which we are implementing will combine the dozens of confusing and overlapping benefit streams into one single payment and will be structured to ensure that work always pays. We are also implementing reforms to disability payments so those who quite rightly need higher levels of financial support get what they need, while those who can work and have been left to exist on disability payments for years without ever being assessed, are helped back into the workplace and given the dignity and security of a regular pay cheque.

As the head of the Oxford food bank said last week, food banks have always been with us and perform a hugely valuable role.

The reasons that people use them are complex but rooted in ongoing problems of low income, indebtedness and family or personal crises which are not simply sorted out overnight and to try to politicise the existence of food banks or to link their use to overdue and important benefit reforms is disingenuous at best.

There is nothing moral about leaving our debts to the next generation to pay off or running an out-of-control welfare system and perhaps church leaders should spend more time getting their own house in order so that the careers of female clergy are no longer blocked by an antiquated glass ceiling.