Cameron challenged by Miliband on poverty and rise in use of food banks A food bank in Coventry providing three-day emergency food supplies this summer. David Cameron has admitted the government needs to do more to help those struggling to make ends meet amid evidence of people's increasing reliance on food banks to avoid going hungry. The prime minister highlighted measures to help those with low incomes after the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, seized on what he claimed was a six-fold increase in the number of people who have been relying on food banks over the past three years, including many in work. During a terse exchange in the Commons at the last prime minister's questions of the year, Miliband told Cameron the state of need in Britain was a "serious indictment" of the government's values. Pressed on the surge in the use of food banks, Cameron praised the role of volunteers who were "part of what I call the big society." He told Miliband: "I do share your concern about people who are struggling to pay the bills, struggling to deal with their budgets. The most important thing is to get on top of inflation, and inflation is coming down. The most important thing is to get more people into work and out of poverty, and we have seen 600,000 more private sector jobs this year. And we are helping those families by freezing the council tax and by making sure that we help families with the cost of living. The Labour leader retorted: "I never thought the big society was about feeding hungry children in Britain." He claimed that even working people were turning to food banks. The Children's Society last week reported that two-thirds of teachers knew of staff providing pupils with food or money to prevent hunger, Miliband said. He added: "Why do you think it's happening and why does it appear to be getting worse on your watch?" Cameron replied: "I agree we need to do more to help the poorest in our country. That is why we have lifted the personal tax allowance and we have taken 2 million of the lowest paid people out of tax altogether. Miliband said more children were going hungry because of the government's choices as he attacked the coalition's decision to increase working-age benefits below the rate of inflation. The reality is, in the third year of your government more children are going hungry and more families are relying on food banks. Isn't it a serious indictment of your government's values that while lower and middle income families are being hit, at the same time you are giving an average £107,000 tax cut to people earning over £1m a year? Cameron told him his government had been tackling a deficit "left by your government" while cutting taxes for the poorest, and increasing child tax credits and freezing the council tax. The richest in our country will pay more in tax under every year of this government than any year of your government.