The overall cost of a child over 18 years (including rent and childcare) is £150, 753 for a couple and £183,335 for a lone parent. But work doesn’t pay low-income families enough to meet a no-frills standard of living, new research from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows. Continue reading Working families falling short of minimum living standard
“claimants are often left flummoxed by how much – or how little – universal credit they will receive from one month to the next” – Alison Garnham, CPAG chief executive
Working people claiming universal credit are having their benefits capped when they shouldn’t be, and losing the effects of ‘work allowances’ worth up to £258 per month simply because of the dates on which their paydays and universal credit ‘assessment periods’ happen to fall, according to new evidence from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). Continue reading Universal Credit flaws leaving families in debt, says Child Poverty Action Group
Funeral planning training helps advisers offer support
Continue reading It’s Your Funeral: helping people plan ahead
The End Child Poverty coalition has published a new child poverty map covering Scotland and the rest of the UK. The latest figures reveal that poverty affects children in every part of Scotland, with as many as 34% of children living in poverty in some local authority areas – compared to just one in ten in others.
Across the UK more than three and a half million children are living in poverty, with 220,000 of them living here in Scotland.
Local child poverty estimates are broken down by local authority, parliamentary constituency and ward and show huge variation across the country.
Members of End Child Poverty in Scotland, including Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, Barnardos Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) Children1st and the Poverty Alliance are calling for urgent action to be taken at UK, Scottish and local government level.
The coalition is calling on the Chancellor to use the upcoming Autumn Statement to end the freeze on children’s benefits, and reverse the sharp cuts being introduced to in-work benefits under Universal Credit. They warn that the current benefits freeze means that as prices rise, low income families find it increasingly hard to pay for basic essentials at the same time as cuts to Universal Credit are pushing more working families below the poverty line.
In Scotland the campaigners are calling on Holyrood and local government to make sure the proposed Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill addresses poverty at local level.They believe that the Bill, which will enshrine the Scottish Government’s ambition to eradicate child poverty by 2030, should explicitly set out and support the role of local government and its community planning partners in tackling child poverty.
John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said: “There’s no doubt that many of the key drivers of child poverty are UK wide and if the new Prime Minister is serious about supporting families then decisive action must be taken to end the freeze on children’s benefits and reverse sharp cuts to in-work support under Universal Credit.
“But this new map also makes it clear that child poverty plays out in different ways at local level. Local authorities and their partners know their communities and are in a great position to work with local people to prevent poverty. Many are already doing important work to make sure local childcare, housing and employability policies are working for low income families.
The new Scottish child poverty legislation must now be drafted so as to ensure all local authorities are supported in law to take a strategic approach, and that all levels of government are pulling in the same direction – towards a Scotland free from child poverty.”
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “The latest map of child poverty across Scotland reflects the experience of our services working with families on low income day in, day out.
“There is much good work taking place to support these children and families but given their financial situation changes in benefits that reduce income have a damaging effect on parents and children. To address these challenges Barnardo’s Scotland works in partnership with local authorities and public bodies in many areas. We recognise the key role they have in the ambition to eradicate poverty and believe that a strategic approach to tackling poverty at the local level should be a key part of the new Child Poverty Bill as well as support to implement this duty”.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance said: “Poverty in Scotland continues to harm the lives of children across Scotland, as this new map shows. Living on a low income not only affects their well-being now, but can have a negative impact in the future. This is an unnecessary situation and one that requires urgent attention.
“The forthcoming Scottish Child Poverty Bill and the Social-Economic Duty should begin to focus more action on the way that we support people at the local level. However, these figures also serve to highlight the damaging impact that cuts to social security benefits by the UK Government have had on many Scottish families. If Theresa May wants to signal a new direction for her Government, then these cuts should be reversed.”
Alison Todd, Chief Executive of Children 1st, Scotland’s National Children’s Charity said: ““Many of the children and families we support are becoming increasingly caught in a complex poverty trap which includes housing costs, trying to meet the costs of enabling their children to take part in school activities and being isolated from opportunities. By working in genuine partnership with families experiencing poverty, local authorities can make a real difference in these and many other areas to help lift children out of poverty.”
Scotland
Percentage of children in poverty (after housing costs)
By Local Authority
| Aberdeen City | 18.2% |
| Aberdeenshire | 13.1% |
| Angus | 20.6% |
| Argyll and Bute | 20.4% |
| Clackmannanshire | 27.3% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 24.3% |
| Dundee City | 27.7% |
| East Ayrshire | 28.0% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 14.2% |
| East Lothian | 20.3% |
| East Renfrewshire | 14.5% |
| Edinburgh, City of | 22.0% |
| Eileanan an Iar | 17.6% |
| Falkirk | 22.0% |
| Fife | 25.0% |
| Glasgow City | 34.1% |
| Highland | 19.2% |
| Inverclyde | 27.9% |
| Midlothian | 22.5% |
| Moray | 17.2% |
| North Ayrshire | 30.4% |
| North Lanarkshire | 25.0% |
| Orkney Islands | 14.1% |
| Perth and Kinross | 18.2% |
| Renfrewshire | 23.6% |
| Scottish Borders | 21.0% |
| Shetland Islands | 10.6% |
| South Ayrshire | 25.7% |
| South Lanarkshire | 22.0% |
| Stirling | 18.8% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 26.5% |
| West Lothian | 22.8% |
By Parliamentary Constituency
| Aberdeen North | 23.0% |
| Aberdeen South | 15.7% |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 28.2% |
| Angus | 23.3% |
| Argyll and Bute | 20.4% |
| Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | 30.0% |
| Banff and Buchan | 18.9% |
| Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | 22.7% |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | 23.0% |
| Central Ayrshire | 27.0% |
| Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill | 22.6% |
| Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | 22.2% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 24.8% |
| Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | 20.0% |
| Dundee East | 22.7% |
| Dundee West | 27.9% |
| Dunfermline and West Fife | 21.0% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 12.2% |
| East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | 19.6% |
| East Lothian | 20.3% |
| East Renfrewshire | 14.5% |
| Edinburgh East | 27.3% |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 23.7% |
| Edinburgh South | 18.5% |
| Edinburgh South West | 23.4% |
| Edinburgh West | 17.5% |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | 17.6% |
| Falkirk | 21.1% |
| Glasgow Central | 39.2% |
| Glasgow East | 33.7% |
| Glasgow North | 31.0% |
| Glasgow North East | 37.6% |
| Glasgow North West | 33.2% |
| Glasgow South | 29.3% |
| Glasgow South West | 33.4% |
| Glenrothes | 30.6% |
| Gordon | 9.2% |
| Inverclyde | 27.9% |
| Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | 17.7% |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 26.7% |
| Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | 27.7% |
| Lanark and Hamilton East | 23.7% |
| Linlithgow and East Falkirk | 23.1% |
| Livingston | 23.0% |
| Midlothian | 22.5% |
| Moray | 17.2% |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 26.1% |
| North Ayrshire and Arran | 29.3% |
| North East Fife | 18.4% |
| Ochil and South Perthshire | 21.7% |
| Orkney and Shetland | 12.2% |
| Paisley and Renfrewshire North | 22.0% |
| Paisley and Renfrewshire South | 25.2% |
| Perth and North Perthshire | 19.7% |
| Ross, Skye and Lochaber | 18.0% |
| Rutherglen and Hamilton West | 23.0% |
| Stirling | 18.8% |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 9.9% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 26.5% |
Continue reading New Child Poverty Map reveals urgent need for action
Heart of Midlothian have scored with anti-poverty campaigners after the Gorgie team became the first football club in Scotland to pay all staff the living wage.
The decision will see all club employees paid at least £7.85 per hour – £1.35 more than the national minimum wage.
Hearts currently top their league by a wide margin and a return to the top flight at the first time of asking looks inevitable. Off the park, the club is doing things right too – and with their profile sky high it’s hoped that where Hearts lead, others will follow.
The Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative was launched in April to provides support and advice to organisations. It’s delivered by The Poverty Alliance, and director Peter Kelly has welcomed Hearts’ initiative. He said: “Almost two in three children in poverty in Scotland live in a household where someone works, and the living wage is a vital tool in lifting people out of in work poverty.
“Football clubs have an important role in communities across Scotland. With thousands of people turning out every week to support their local clubs, they can play an important leadership role, not only for fans but for the businesses they work with.
“I hope that more clubs will follow Heart of Midlothian’s example but not only giving their staff a pay rise this Christmas, but by showing real leadership on this issue on and off the pitch.”
A Heart of Midlothian spokesperson said the move was in keeping with the club’s values. “Heart of Midlothian Football Club is delighted to be given accreditation to become a living wage employer.
“The club feels that implementing the living wage is entirely in keeping with the values that we hold dear as Edinburgh’s oldest football club. Since revealing our intention to implement the living wage the club has received widespread backing from both our supporters and sponsors.”
More than 70 employers are now accredited as paying the living wage, but there’s a long way to go – in Scotland, it’s estimated that at least 414,000 workers are currently paid below the living wage.
Figures released by the Campaign to End Child Poverty show that 29% of children living in the Forth ward live in poverty, and campaigners believe that these already appalling figures will worsen as welfare reforms bite.
Research figures released on 15 February show that nearly all – 27 out of 32 – local authorities in Scotland have council wards where over 20% of their children live in poverty, and projections by both Government and the Institute for Fiscal Studies expect the number of children growing up in poverty to significantly worsen amidst UK benefit and welfare cuts.
The Campaign to End Child Poverty, a coalition of anti-poverty and children’s charities, has published up to date figures showing rates of child poverty across every local authority, constituency and ward.
It’s a depressingly familiar picture, and it’s absolutely no surprise to see areas like Forth (29%), Leith (28%) and Sighthill/Gorgie (35%, or more than one in three children) at the top (or bottom) of the Edinburgh league table, while at the opposite end of the scale come Inverleith (10%), Colinton/Fairmilehead (9%) and Meadows/Morningside at just 5%.
The statistics, compiled from mid-2012 data, are believed to be the most up-to-date local data on child poverty and they show that there are unacceptably high levels of child poverty in every part of Scotland. However, campaigners are stressing that action by local and national Government in Scotland can make a huge difference in minimising family hardship.
John Dickie, speaking on behalf of Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, said: “These latest figures show low-income families both in and out of work have to some extent been protected through recession by benefits and tax credit support. But the hidden picture is far more sinister as the current ripping away of that support is forecast to drive tens of thousands of children into poverty across Scotland in the coming years”.
Recent forecasts indicate that at least 65,000 more children in Scotland will be living below the breadline by the end of the decade.
Back in 1999, politicians promised to end child poverty by 2020 – these latest figures show just how far we’ve still got to go. The government says it remains committed to eradicating child poverty by 2020, however: “Helping children overcome poverty will make a huge difference not only to their lives but to the lives of their families, communities and to society as a whole. Ending child poverty means tackling a wide range of complex issues to improve children’s chances in life and empowering families to move themselves out of poverty for good.
“There are challenges ahead, but the Coalition’s Programme for Government made clear its commitment to ending child poverty by 2020. Success depends on finding the best long-term solutions to tackling child poverty and the national strategy sets out how the Government proposes to tackle child poverty in the forthcoming years.”
The UK is one of the richest countries in the industrialised world, and yet one in three of our children is living in poverty. Whatever your political persuasion, that just can’t be right.
Charities and voluntary organisations have launched a scathing attack on the Westminster government’s welfare reforms. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) says proposed cuts to benefits through the introduction of the new Universal Credit are ‘criminal’.
Research figures released by SCVO show that three-quarters of welfare charities expect demand for their services to increase in the next year as benefit cuts start to bite, while facing further funding cuts themselves.
Martin Sime, Chief Executive of SCVO, said ‘ill-conceived’ cuts are coming at a time when the country is struggling to emerge from the deepest recession for generations, and that charities and voluntary projects are concerned about meeting an anticipated record high demand for services.
“It’s clear from this research that Westminster’s criminal cuts to welfare are putting so much pressure on charities’ services that some will struggle to keep up with demand from people and families in Scotland,” he said. “The sector is pulling together to pick up the pieces and help to mitigate the terrible effects of these ill-conceived Westminster cuts which should never have happened in the first place.”
The government is cutting £10bn from the welfare budget to make benefits fairer and more able to tackle poverty. Six different benefits will become just one – the Universal Credit – with changes coming into force from next year, and up to nineteen million people will be affected by the controversial reforms.
The Westminster government determines welfare payments, and insists that the reforms are necessary and fair. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan-Smith (pictured below) said: “The introduction of the Universal Credit is not about cuts. This is about taking a very complex system and making it simpler, easier and fairer. Yes, it is an enormous change but it rewards and supports those people who make decision to go back to work. Really caring about people is about saying: ‘look, I want to change your life with you’ – we offer positive incentives to help people to do that.”
The Scottish government has no control over welfare payments and says that the Westminster reforms are both ill-considered and are being implemented with undue haste, leaving local councils and the voluntary sector to deal with the consequences. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon admitted there is only so much Holyrood can do, and said: “The Scottish government will do all it can to mitigate the impact of these cuts and changes, although there are consequences that are currently out with the capability of the Scottish government’s powers.”
First Minister Alex Salmond said that only independence can give Scotland the powers it needs to develop a welfare system that allows work to pay ‘without reducing people to penury or despair.’ He told a Third Sector conference: ““We need the powers of an independent country if we are to properly protect the foundations of the welfare state in Scotland. In our own hands, it would surely not be beyond our collective abilities to manage to make work pay without reducing people to penury or despair. We do not want independence for its own sake – independence is a means to greater ends, and this is a prime example of that. We want Scotland to be independent because we know that only then can we build a society that reflects our shared values. An independent Scotland can and will be a fairer Scotland.”
There is no public sympathy for those who can work but choose not to, but campaigners fear that benefit changes will hit the worst-off hardest – the poorest families will suffer most.
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “It’s not problem families, but families faced with the problem of low pay and shrinking government help for families. It’s some of the hardest working families that have been first in the queue for cuts – they’ve had their tax credits cut, their Child Benefit frozen year after year and many will have had essential help for childcare costs slashed.
“Six out of ten poor children come from working families. These are some of the hardest working people in the country, working the longest hours, for the lowest pay, in the worst conditions and with the highest aspirations for themselves and their children.
“A child in poverty is much more likely to be in poverty because they have a parent who is a security guard or a cleaner than one who is a drug addict or ‘feckless’. There is no evidence that people don’t want to take jobs but plenty that shows that people are hurling themselves at the labour market – the problem is that they don’t stick, not that they don’t try.”
Granton Information Centre is one of the voluntary organisations already seeing the impact of the welfare reforms. The advice centre based on West Granton Road dealt with over 5000 benefit enquiries last year, but staff have already seen a 50% rise in demand during the first six months of this year due to benefit changes that have already taken place.
GIC manager Caroline Pickering said: “Over the last couple of months we have been making presentations to other agencies, groups and health professionals to prepare them for the changes and many have been shocked by the scale of what is being proposed, and the effect it is likely to have on both their clients and patients and the services they currently provide. We are already seeing an upsurge in client numbers and there’s absolutely no doubt that this number will at least double next year as the effect of the changes are felt. At least we know the changes are coming – but we know that there are still a lot of people out there who are not aware of some major changes to their benefit entitlement. As an organisation we are as prepared as we can be, but resources are very tight. We will be facing a huge challenge.”
A report published today says that nearly one in three children living in the Forth ward are living in poverty. The report shows that 13 Scottish councils have wards where more than 30% of children live in pockets of severe poverty, and campaigners are urging politicians to do much more to tackle this ‘shameful’ social problem.
The Campaign to End Child Poverty has produced a map of child poverty for every ward, council and constituency in the country. Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty include Action for Children Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Children 1st, the Church of Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, Poverty Alliance and Save the Children.
The map classes children as living in poverty if they are in families on out of work benefits or work tax credits where income is less than 60% of median – before housing costs. The Campaign to End Child Poverty said the latest official figures showed that overall in Scotland 20% of children live in poverty on this measure.
In Edinburgh, Sighthill/Gorgie shows the highest levels of poverty at 36%, followed by Forth (30%), Portobello/Craigmillar (30%), Leith (29%) and Liberton/Gilmerton at 28%.
Child Poverty Action Group’s John Dickie, speaking on behalf of Scottish members of the campaign, said: “It is shameful that in almost every part of our country there are children who are missing out and seeing their future life chances seriously harmed. With public spending budgets under severe pressure the need to invest to prevent the numbers of children living in poverty spiralling is greater than ever.”
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “We are determined to address the root causes of child poverty. That’s why last year we launched Scotland’s first ever national strategy to tackle child poverty, which will see Scotland’s poorest families benefit from help to increase their household incomes and improve their children’s life chances.”
