Coronavirus: Portsmouth council leader urges food rationing amid fears for the vulnerable
A COUNCIL leader has called on government to start rationing basic supplies amid fears for vulnerable city residents.
Portsmouth City Council leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson has written to prime minister Boris Johnson urging him to ‘intervene’ after panic buying has left some supermarket shelves bare.
Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: ‘In local government we are working as hard as possible to protect the vulnerable and minimise the effects on residents.
‘I have been very concerned to see what is happening in local supermarkets both in Portsmouth and around the country.
‘We are seeing increasingly large areas of empty shelves with supplies not appearing to be replaced by the supermarkets.
‘I am very concerned for vulnerable residents, particularly those who are self-isolating either because of their age or underlying health conditions.
‘It is looking increasingly likely that government will need to intervene to in some way to ration vital products, so that those most in need are able to get these basic supplies, and that supplies are not bought by the people who push their way to the front of the queue.’
In a joint letter supermarkets have urged people to be ‘considerate’.