[Barnardos Free Docs.]9097 Poverty Briefing Scotland

8/14/2019 [Barnardos Free Docs.]9097 Poverty Briefing Scotland

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The reality o child poverty in Scotland

It doesnthappen here

CHILD

POVE

RTY

BRIEFIN

G

Barnardos

Scotland

Barnar

dos

Scotla

nd

A member o the Campaign to End Child Poverty


2/4 It doesn t happen here

Introduction

In March 1999 the Prime Minister made a historic

and ambitious pledge to end child poverty within

a generation. There are now 600,000 ewer

children living in poverty in the UK than eight

years ago, or whom quality o lie and uture

opportunities are improving. But ar too manychildren are still let behind. The lives o 3.8 million

children in the UK are blighted by poverty.1 Child

poverty in the UK is double what it was in 1979

and is well above the European average.

In Scotland there are 50,000 children living

in poverty this is one in our o our young

people. This at a time when the Scottish

economy steadily grows. Whilst some

considerable progress has been made by the

Scottish Executive in tackling poverty across

Scotland, that progress is not ast enough.Current government strategies will not be

sucient as presently set out, to meet the

national target o halving child poverty by 010.

The most creative o policies will not eradicate

poverty i they only ocus on income transers

as deeper underlying structural inequalities in

society need to be addressed too.

This report is a summary o a wider study

(called It doesnt happen here) which looks at

the lives o the poorest children in the UK, and

is based on interviews with over 40 amilies

with whom Barnardos works. The interviews

demonstrate the reality o lie or those most

deeply mired in poverty. These include children

in black and minority ethnic amilies, those in

amilies struggling on low wages, lone parent

amilies, amilies aected by disability and large

amilies. The ull report also looks at other

vulnerable groups, including children in asylum-

seeking amilies, children in poor housing and

young people living independently.

The problem: inadequate

incomes and low wages

In 005/06 a couple with two children living

in the UK spent on average 64 a week.4

The amilies interviewed or the Barnardos

It doesnt happen here report had incomes

ar lower, and in most cases well below the

governments own poverty line.5 For example Jill

aged 17, rom Glasgow lives on her own and is

putting hersel through college on 75 a week,when a single person is considered to be in

poverty i they are living on less than 100

per week.6 It is also worth noting that:

n in Scotland, one in ve amilies are missing out

on tax credits through lack o benet uptake

to which they are entitled this is estimated

to be worth 70 million per year7

n in Scotland, 5 per cent o children in poverty

live in households with at least one earner.8

Ending child poverty requires redistributionthrough the tax and benets system to

provide an adequate saety net and to make

work pay

n in Scotland, 30 per cent o low pay jobs are

located in the public sector9 and the Scottish

Executive can exercise signicant infuence here

to improve the situation. Low paid work needs

to be meaningully addressed i amilies seeking

to better themselves and move out o poverty

are to nd a lasting solution in the world o work

n in Scotland, research carried out by a coalition

o childrens charities estimates that 100,000

children and young people now live in uel poverty

in Scotland as a direct result o price rises.10

Keeping the child poverty promise

By investing an extra 3.8 billion

Keeping its promise to halve child poverty by

010 will require the government to spend a

total o 3.8 billion more across the UK by 010

than currently planned. On current policies, thereis little prospect o the 010 target being hit

either in Scotland or across the rest o the UK.

The Institute or Fiscal Studies has estimated that

the additional 1 billion spending on tax credits

announced in the 007 Budget will reduce child

poverty by a urther 00,000 by 010. This will

mean the government missing its target to halve

child poverty by some 900,000 children.

Further, the Institute or Fiscal Studies, taking

account o 007 Budget changes, estimates thatthe 010 target could be achieved by increasing

the child element o child tax credit by a urther

11 a week at 007 prices, and giving an extra

0 per week or the third and subsequent

children through the amily element o the

child tax credit.

By investing this additional 3.8 billion on

benets and tax credits the government could

meet the 010 target. But a wider range o policy

responses is necessary to tackle the root causes

o child poverty to remove barriers to work,to ensure that work pays and to ensure that

children in poverty are equipped to escape their

parents ate and avoid bringing up their own

children in poverty.


3/43Barnardos Scotland Executive summary brieng

By giving wider help to amilies

The 3.8 billion is vital to meet the 010 target

but other solutions are equally important,

especially i the pledge to abolish child poverty

by 00 is to be met.

Employment the case studies show that most

parents want to work and saw this as a way outo poverty but experienced real barriers to

getting a job and staying in it. The lack o sot

skills and qualications keeps many parents,

especially lone parents, out o the labour market.

However, work is not a guaranteed route out o

poverty and case studies show how low wages

and the high costs o childcare mean that many

parents are oten no better o in work. The

Scottish Executive is aware o this problem and

has implemented targeted support programmes

to address these issues. Such programmes needto continue under a new administration but

need to sharpen their ocus on the barriers low

wages and high childcare costs present or those

seeking to return to work.

Childcare through the establishment o Sure

Start and other childcare initiatives, the Scottish

Executive has demonstrated its commitment to

increasing the availability o quality early years

provision in Scotland. However, more remains

to be done to expand and build on this success.

Case studies show how the lack o appropriateand aordable childcare continues to be a

barrier or parents who want to go back to

work. Help with childcare costs is available

through the tax credit system but the high

costs o childcare, especially or amilies with

disabled children or those caring or more than

two children, have the eect o either keeping

amilies out o the labour market or leaving

them no better o in work.

Poverty in school holidays or the majority

o children in Scotland and the rest o the UK,

school holidays mean holidays away rom home

and exciting events and trips. For amilies on

a low income, like the ones interviewed or

this report, they mean extra hardship costs

on essentials like ood go up but income

doesnt. Holidays become a time o survival.

Compensating amilies or the loss o ree school

meals in holidays would help ease the nancial

pressure and enable amilies to provide some sort

o positive experience during holidays.11

Fuel poverty a 91 per cent increase in the

retail price o gas since 003 and a 60 per cent

increase in electricity prices have seen a dramatic

escalation in the numbers o households

living in uel poverty. It is estimated that 3.5

million households1 in the UK are living in uel

poverty. This is exemplied by the amilies we

interviewed, many o whom were struggling with

high uel costs. They were paying more because

many used pre-payment meters (PPMs) to help

with budgeting. Across the main suppliers, gas

PPM customers pay an average o 70 more

per year than customers on direct debit and

electricity customers an average o 103 more

per year.13 I the Westminster government and

the Scottish Executive are to meet their targets

to eradicate uel poverty or vulnerable groups

by 010 and or everyone by 016, they must

work with energy suppliers to ensure that allcustomers are on the cheapest taris and not

penalised because o their method o payment.

Debt many o the amilies interviewed

were in debt either to doorstep lenders or

riends and amily. Many o these loans were

to cover the costs o Christmas, birthdays and

essential household goods. Lenders, including

some reputable high street names, are charging

between 160 and 800 per cent interest a year on

loans, trapping amilies in a vicious cycle o debt.14

The Government must give priority to ending

the nancial exclusion o low-income amilies

including ensuring that high street banks play

their part.

Reerences1 UK Households Below Average Income survey or 2005/06 Department

or Work and Pensions, 007 Households Below Average Income sur vey or 2005/06 SCOTLAND

Scottish Executive 0073 Poverty in Scotland 2007- Child Poverty Action Group, London 0074 Oce or National Statistics www.nationalstatistics.org.uk5 The report uses the same denition o poverty as used by the

Government in Opportunity or All (DWP, 00).The poverty line is

60 per cent o median income level where the median is the level

o income ater direct taxes and benets, adjusted or household size,

such that hal the population is above the level and hal below it. This

denition is a standard that changes as median income levels change; it

is a measure o relative poverty. People living in poverty are dened as

those living on less than 60 percent o median income, ater housing costs.6 Poverty in Scotland 2007- Child Poverty Action Group, London 0077 Poverty in Scotland 2007- Child Poverty Action Group, London 0078 Households Below Average Income sur vey or 2005/06 SCOTLAND

Scottish Executive 0079 Poverty in Scotland 2007 Child Poverty Action Group, London 00710 Update fgure or children living in uel poverty(006) Barnardos, CiS,

CPAG, Save the Children, Capability Scotland11 This will cost DWP, 98 million or England , 6 million or Wales, 9.5

million or Scotland and 5 million or Northern Ireland or primary and

secondary school children. This would cost DWP about 90 a child in the

UK or 13 weeks o school holidays1

UK Fuel Poverty Monitor: are uel poverty targets out o range, May 00613 National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland, 00614 From http://www.debt-on-our-doorstep.com/DooD_Leafet_nal.pd


4/44 It doesn t happen here

Case study

The ollowing case study is just one example

in Scotland which typies the situation many

amilies nd themselves in through no ault

o their own.

Rose Barnardos YouthInvolvement Project, Glasgow

Rose is a single parent with three boys under 17

living at home. She is registered disabled and receives

incapacity beneft and disability living allowance. She

also suers rom chronic depression and she and all

her boys have asthma. The house is unsuitable or the

amily as it is a fve-apartment, three-level house.

She fnds the upkeep difcult:

Ive been in this house 14 years and its never been

wallpapered from the day I moved in - no centralheating and no possibility of me getting carpets or lino

as its too expensive. I cant get anyone to decorate,

I cant afford it.

Rose spends 25 a week on gas and electricity

but the house is still cold and this is aecting the

amilys health.

Draughts come through the doors and it aects

everyone in the house here because were

constantly cold all the time. Its rozen, weve only

got the gas fre, theres nothing in the rooms so you

have to get wrapped up at night because its so cold.

The Youth Involvement Project in Glasgow tackles

poverty and unemployment through working primarily

with the young people in amilies such as Roses. It

aims to provide individual support and a mentoring

programmes or young people at risk. The young

people are supported in education and in their

search or training and employment.

The way orward

Barnardos Scotland is asking the government

to keep its promise to millions o children to

end child poverty within a generation. We

call on the Westminster government and the

Scottish Executive to act.

UK government

n Invest 3.8 billion to meet the promise tohalve child poverty by 010 and in uture,

increase benets and tax credits in-line with

earnings to stop the incomes o the poorest

amilies alling urther behind.

n Establish a UK commission on ending child

poverty, preerably chaired by the Prime

Minister or Chancellor, which would deliver

a road map setting out the investment and

policies needed to hit the 00 target.

n Aim all governmentunding and programmesat beneting the poorest children the most.

nTackle the additional hardship in school

holidays by compensating amilies whose

children get ree school meals, or the loss

o these during the school holidays.

nTackle uel poverty by working with

the private sector to make sure that all

customers are on the cheapest taris or

utilities and are not penalised i they cannot

take advantage o payment schemes such

as direct debit.

Scottish Executive

n Establish an appropriate mechanism to

mirror a UK Commission to implement

change in Scotland as appropriate to the

devolution settlement.

n Extend access to high quality childcare

by ensuring adequate unding to sustain

childcare provision in disadvantaged

communities. Reliance on the market alone

will not deliver or our poorest amilies.

n Extend ree meals to children with parents

on the maximum working tax credit; likely

cost is approximately 30 million, depending

on uptake.

n Encourage local authorities to provide

aordable and age-appropriate holiday

activities or all children.

Contact

Tam Baillie

Assistant Director, Policy

0131 334 9893

[email protected]

Copies o the main report It doesnt happen here

the reality of child poverty in the UKare available

rom Barnardos head ofce, tel: 020 8498 7750

For urther inormation visit:www.barnardos.org.uk/poverty

All names have been changed to protect identities.

Documents

[Barnardos Free Docs.]9097 Poverty Briefing Scotland