Executive failing to help the poor, say charities

from The Herald

Government efforts since devolution to relieve the pain of poverty have failed, according to a new report by 20 charities.

The vast majority of people approached by charity researchers for the study said they hadn't seen a change in their circumstances since 1999, when the Scottish Parliament was established.

Asylum seekers, in particular, feel disenfranchised from society because they are barred from taking employment while awaiting the outcome of applications to stay in the country.

The report, Voices Of People Experiencing Poverty in Scotland, calls on the Scottish Executive and Westminster to do more to tackle low pay and poverty - and allow asylum seekers the right to work.

It says the executive concentrates on employment as a key route out of poverty, instead of ensuring workers are well paid, and should consider whether the national minimum wage is suitable for Scotland. The study also calls for regulation over advertisements for expensive credit from debt managers.

Other key issues identified included barriers to employment because of problems in getting childcare, lack of transport, difficulties in accessing services and benefits as well as poor-quality housing, bad debt and aggressive creditors.

Bullying was identified as a major problem by children in Glasgow who participated in the research. Some described how bullying by people who know about their poverty led to feelings of self-consciousness and becoming isolated from their peers.

The research involved a focus group study across Scotland that covered the experiences of 112 adults and children living in poverty. It was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and backed by 20 Scottish charities, including Poverty Alliance, Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Save the Children, Citizens Advice Scotland, Oxfam UK Poverty Programme, Shelter Scotland and Scottish Refugee Council.

In 2005, 900,000 people in Scotland were living on a low income, some 18% of the population, and 250,000 of those were children. Poverty was measured as those families below 60% of the median income, estimated to be £268 a week after housing costs for a couple with two children or £100 a week after housing costs for a single person.

The report says: "Quantitative research shows poverty rates for some groups have fallen significantly in recent years, most notably for families with children and for elderly people. Despite this, almost all participants in this research found it difficult to identify a general sense of improvement in their communities or in their own circumstances.

"Some improvements in specific services or specific aspects were reported, but not a general sense of rising wellbeing among those on the lowest incomes. It may be people are not benefiting from the investments made in public services in recent years."

While the number of working-age claimants of out-of-work benefits has fallen by a fifth, the report said people were still reporting barriers to finding work and instability in employment. Despite incentives to continue in education, research also highlighted the barriers to pursuing this when from a disadvantaged background. Researchers say a recurring theme was the training opportunities available to people through job centres don't necessarily lead to jobs.

Study participants felt there weren't enough opportunities to improve their own situation, so found themselves trapped in a cycle of low-paid, insecure work, unemployment and discrimination by employers. Asylum seekers involved in the study said they felt "socially excluded", despite government efforts to integrate them.

A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "We have already exceeded our first target to reduce child poverty by a quarter by 2004-05, which proves we are on target to meet the key pledge of eradicating it by 2020."

I don't know where I go from here... the benefit system is a nightmare'

HELEN McDuff is a single mother with four children who has a mentoring qualification but says she cannot get a job due to the complexity of the welfare system.

The 42-year-old, who looks after her children, Stuart, 24, Lorna, 18, Adele, 14, and Fraser, nine, along with her four-year-old niece Lisa, believes her financial situation and that of others like her has become worse since devolution.

She and her family, who live in a three-bedroom housing association property in Priesthill, Glasgow, live on £330 a month, without any tax credits and no housing costs taken out.

Due to a dispute with her ex-husband over who is responsible for paying back hundreds of pounds in working tax credits, she is reluctant to work.

While getting an SQV in mentoring through working as a volunteer for the now defunct childcare organisation, One Plus, she knows that if she goes to work she will not be eligible for the tax credit because of the dispute and says she would not then be able to afford her rent.

"I think things have got worse, definitely," she said. "I have got into a rut now One Plus has shut down and I don't know where I go from here. I am in limbo. I would be working tomorrow if I could get the working tax credit, but they say I owe hundreds and I can't afford it.

"Childcare is a problem. It is a problem to get places and it is also so expensive. The benefits system is a nightmare and our situation is a stigma for the children.

"They can only spend £1.23 a day in school and if they don't get enough to eat they are standing with their friends who have money and who can go out to the shops when they want - and my youngest daughter just cannot do it.

"I think there should be an overall look at the way people live because I don't think the government understands."