Responding to Public Health Scotland’s latest stroke statistics, John Watson, Associate Director Scotland of the Stroke Association, said: “The latest stroke figures reinforce what the Stroke Association has repeatedly said – that stroke has a huge impact on the health and social care landscape in Scotland, and those who live in the poorest parts of our country are the most adveresly affected.
“The health and social burden of stroke falls most heavily on certain groups. The death rate for cerebrovascular disease in the most deprived areas in 2020 was 43% higher than in our least deprived areas.
“Stroke remains Scotland’s fourth biggest killer. More than 128 000 Scots are living with the effects of their stroke. The need for improvements in stroke prevention, treatment and care is urgent and recognised by the Scottish Government.
“We await the imminent publication of the Scottish Government’s vision report outlining a new progressive stroke service for Scotland.
“We then expect a Stroke Action Plan to follow that quickly – outlining how the vision is to be delivered in Health Boards and communities across Scotland.”
Registration rates remain high due to lifetime registration – over 96% of the Scottish population were registered with an NHS dentist in September 2021 – but the percentage of children registered fell from 91.4% in 2020 to 87.7% in 2021.
Participation rates – contact with a dentist within the past 2 years – continued to fall during the pandemic due to ongoing restrictions imposed on dental practices. At 30 September 2021, just over half of registered patients (52.6%) had seen an NHS dentist within the last two years, a considerable reduction from almost two-thirds (65.1%) in 2020. The participation rate among children was higher than for adults (63.9% compared to 50.2%).
Oral health inequalities between the most and least deprived areas in Scotland continue to grow, with the new data showing record gaps in participation rates.
In September 2008, the gap between the child participation rates for the most and least deprived areas was three percentage points; this had increased to seven percentage points by 2010, and eighteen percentage points (55.3% compared to 73.1%) in September 2021.
Similarly, in September 2008 the gap among adults was three percentage points; this had increased to six percentage points by 2010, and eleven percentage points (45.1% compared for 56.4%) in September 2021.
The BDA has repeatedly warned that lower levels of participation will inevitably translate into a higher disease burden, with deep oral health inequalities expected to widen even further, given the cumulative impact of limited access to services, the suspension of public health programmes, and the impact of lockdown diets.
Lower participation will reduce the chance of picking up early signs of decay and oral cancers at routine check-ups, and delays in treatment will mean higher costs to the NHS and worse outcomes for patients.
Free NHS dental care at the point of use remains a central Scottish Government policy. The stark results of a recent BDA survey showed that Scottish Government plans to revert to pre-COVID models of care risk sparking a flight of dentists from the NHS, with potentially devastating consequences for patient access across Scotland.
BDA Scotland has long warned that a return to a ‘business as usual model’ – low margin and high volume – will put practices under unsustainable financial pressure and will likely lead to closures or movement to the private sector.
BDA Scotland repeats its assertion that the Scottish Government must, in the short term, develop a suitable interim funding package to support dentists and their teams as they work through the backlog, and begin work on a new, sustainable long-term model for NHS dentistry.
Robert Donald of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Council said: “Today’s figures provide further evidence of the devastating effect of the pandemic on dental services.
“Plummeting participation rates and the record gap in oral health inequalities present a bleak picture which will take a real commitment of time and resource to fix.
“The Scottish Government needs to heed the concerns of the profession. It’s not just their signature policy of free dentistry that risks becoming unattainable. Failure to act risks sparking an exodus from the workforce that will leave families across Scotland losing access to NHS dentistry for good.”
New billionaire created every 26 hours, as inequality contributes to the death of one person every four seconds
The world’s ten richest men more than doubled their fortunes from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion – at a rate of $1.3 billion a day – during the pandemic while the incomes of 99 per cent of humanity have fallen with over 160 million people forced into poverty and inequality contributing to the death of one person every four seconds, an Oxfam report reveals today.
The report Inequality Kills, published on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda, finds that a new billionaire has been created every 26 hours since the start of the pandemic while the collective wealth of all 2,755 billionaires surged more than in the last 14 years put together. At $5 trillion dollars, this is the biggest increase in billionaire wealth since Forbes records began in 1987.
If the ten richest men were to lose 99.999 per cent of their combined wealth tomorrow, they would still be richer than 99 per cent of people on the planet and their wealth is six times more than that of the poorest 3.1 billion people.
The enormous rise in wealth is juxtaposed by a sharp increase in poverty around the world. Over 160 million more people are living on less than $5.50 a day than when the pandemic began. Inequality is now contributing to the death of at least 21,000 people each day, or one person every four seconds. This conservative finding is based on deaths globally from lack of access to healthcare, hunger, gender-based violence and climate breakdown.
Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB Chief Executive said: “The explosion in billionaire’s fortunes at a time when poverty is increasing lays bare the fundamental flaws in our economies.
“Even during a global crisis our unfair economic systems manage to deliver eye-watering windfalls for the wealthiest but fail to protect the poorest – it is an avoidable tragedy that every day people die because they lack essentials such as food and healthcare.
“Today’s generation of leaders can start to right these wrongs by implementing progressive taxes on capital and wealth and deploying that revenue to save lives and invest in our future. They should make sure that Covid-19’s long-term legacy is quality universal healthcare and social protection for all. Governments have an historic opportunity to back bold economic plans based on greater equality that change the deadly course we are on.”
The report also details how:
Developing countries, denied access to sufficient vaccines because of rich governments’ protection of pharmaceutical corporations’ monopolies, have been forced to slash social spending as their debt levels spiral and now face the prospect of austerity measures.
The pandemic has set gender parity back from 99 years to 135 years. Women collectively lost $800 billion in earnings in 2020, with 13 million fewer women in work now than there were in 2019. Over 20 million girls are at risk of never returning to school.
The pandemic has hit racialized groups hardest. During the second wave of the pandemic in England, people of Bangladeshi origin were five times more likely to die of Covid-19 than the White British population. In the US, 3.4 million Black Americans would be alive today if their life expectancy was the same as White people – a fact that is directly linked to historical racism and slavery.
Analysis of emissions by income group shows that over-consumption by the world’s richest people is one of the main drivers of today’s climate crisis. 20 of the richest billionaires are estimated, on average, to be emitting as much as 8,000 times more carbon than the billion poorest people.
Oxfam’s analysis showed that a one-off 99 per cent tax on the ten richest men’s pandemic windfalls alone would raise $812 billion and could fund:
Enough vaccines for the world
Universal healthcare and social protection, climate adaptation and gender-based violence reduction in over 80 countries
While still leaving these men $8 billion better off than they were before the pandemic.
Oxfam recommends that governments:
Urgently tax the pandemic gains made by billionaires and introduce permanent wealth and capital taxes, investing the trillions that could be raised on universal healthcare and social protection, climate change adaptation, and gender-based violence prevention and programming.
Immediately waive intellectual property rules over Covid-19 vaccine technologies to allow more countries to produce safe and effective vaccines to usher in the end of the pandemic.
Tackle sexist laws that discriminate against women and create new gender-equal laws.
End laws that undermine the rights of workers to unionize and strike and set up stronger legal standards to protect them.
Consultation on new approach to prevent food insecurity
Proposals to end the need for food banks as a primary response to food insecurity have been published.
Views are being sought on the Scottish Government’s draft national plan, which is supported by food bank operators, including the Trussell Trust and Independent Food Aid Network.
The plan follows action during the pandemic to prevent food insecurity through strengthening household incomes and the delivery of cash-first responses to financial hardship.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We share the same vision as food bank operators – they are not a long term solution to poverty. Our draft plan sets out what we will do within our powers – including introducing a shopping voucher pilot scheme – to make food banks the last port of call.
“Over the last year we have invested around £2.5 billion to support low income households, including nearly £1 billion to directly support children.
“Despite our fixed budget and limited powers we are taking action to support those in poverty, including discussions around establishing a minimum income guarantee for Scotland.
“As part of the right to an adequate standard of living, people need to be able to access food that meets their dietary, social and cultural needs and this plan shows the way forward.”
Sabine Goodwin, co-ordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network, which represents more than 500 food banks across the UK, said: “As the cut to Universal Credit and cost of living increases exacerbate poverty in Scotland, the publication of the draft national plan to end the need for food banks couldn’t be more timely.
“With a cash first, collaborative approach to food insecurity as the cornerstone of this plan, a time when food banks will no longer be needed to plug the gaps left by financial hardship is within sight.”
JRF Study reveals scale of debt crisis among low-income households
Number of low-income households in arrears has tripled since pandemic hit
4 in 10 working-age low-income households fell behind on bills during pandemic
Millions are behind on rent and bills and have had to take on new borrowing
JRF calls for urgent action to support low-income families through cost-of-living crisis and prevent worsening wealth inequality
A large-scale study of households on low incomes has revealed the extent of the debt crisis hanging over the UK’s poorest families as the country braces to weather a cost-of-living crisis.
The analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) looks at households in the bottom 40% of incomes in the UK – those with a household income of £24,752 or less. This represents around 11.6 million households.
It estimates that 3.8 million such households are in arrears with household bills, totaling £5.2bn. 950,000 are in rent arrears; 1.4 million are behind on council tax bills; and 1.4 million are behind on electricity and gas bills. 33% of low-income households are now in arrears, which is triple the 11% estimated by a similar study prior to the pandemic.
Working-age households on low incomes (those aged 18-64) have been particularly hard hit: 44% are in arrears. For households aged 18-24 this rises to almost three-quarters (71%) of people being in arrears.
The survey shows clear signs that the profound financial impact of the pandemic has dragged families who were previously just about managing into arrears on essential bills. A large majority of households who are now behind on their household bills (87%) said that they were always or often able to pay all their bills in full and on time before the pandemic hit.
This is not surprising given people on low incomes were more likely to lose income during the pandemic due to job loss, reduced hours or being furloughed. Even before recent energy price rises began to bite, six in ten households on low incomes (62%) reported that their costs increased during the pandemic.
The other clear trend in the survey is the increased borrowing taken on by households on low incomes. Around 4.4million such households have taken on new or increased borrowing, and their total amount of borrowing comes to an estimated £9.5bn. 69% of households with new or increased borrowing are also in arrears.
The study highlights groups that have been hit particularly hard. Over half of the households in the following groups have been pulled into arrears:
Families with children (55%),
Households in London (55%),
Households with a person under 45 answering the survey (56%),
Black, Asian and minority ethnic households (58%)
Many families on low incomes are still reeling from the huge £20 per week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit earlier in the month. It is worrying that the survey was conducted in September when many of the households surveyed received the uplift which has now been removed.
Energy bills and other costs are continuing to rise, with the price of energy projected to soar further in the coming months. An increase in National Insurance contributions next April is another extra cost many working people will face.
Of the households surveyed who receive Universal Credit, 40% are not confident they will be able to pay their bills in full and on time, while 35% don’t think they will be able to avoid taking on more debt. Half (50%) of these households say they do not feel confident they can find a job or work more hours, calling into question the Government’s insistence on jobs as the only solution.
The comparison between how poorer and wealthier households have fared during the pandemic is striking. The Bank of England found that wealthier households have tended to accumulate savings during the pandemic.
These households were more likely to stay in work and to be able to work from home, reducing daily costs, and to save money during lockdown due to enforced saving. Homeowners also benefited from rising house prices.
JRF is urging the Government to put in place a package of support at the Budget to ease pressure on low-income households and prevent further debt.
As well as urging the Government to reinstate the £20 in Universal Credit, the report also recommends that the Government provide at least £500m additional grant funding via the Household Support Fund for targeted debt relief.
It is also essential to address the systemic drivers of debt including through writing off Tax Credit debts when people move onto Universal Credit and addressing Universal Credit advance repayments that many households have no option but to take on during the five-week wait for the first payment.
This flaw in the design of the benefit has long been criticised by food banks and anti-poverty groups for causing ‘destitution by design.’
Katie Schmuecker, Deputy Director for Policy & Partnerships at JRF said: “There is a debt crisis hanging over millions of families on low incomes. Behind these figures are parents gripped by anxiety, wondering how they will put food on their children’s plates and pay the gas bill; young people forced to rely on friends to help cover their rent and avoid eviction.
“While many households on higher incomes have enjoyed increased savings and rising house prices during the pandemic, people on low incomes are under serious financial pressure that shows no sign of abating. As a society, we believe in protecting one another from harm. As costs pile up and incomes have been cut, we urgently need to rethink the support in place for people at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis.
“The Budget is about priorities. We know the Chancellor is capable of taking bold action to protect people from harm when it is required. Reinstating the £20 per week increase to Universal Credit and boosting funding for councils to tackle debt must be priorities in next week’s Budget. We must give families the firm foundations they need to flourish and take part in our economic recovery.”
Free to attend programme online and at St. John’s Church, Princes Street from 6th – 30th August
Edinburgh’s social justice and human rights festival is coming of age this summer with its biggest event yet.
Among the headline offerings are a poignant new choral work, No Alleluias: A Requiem for 2020, specially commissioned to celebrate the festival’s 21st birthday and an online appearance by former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen (below) who spent several weeks in intensive care after contracting Covid-19.
Both reflect on the extraordinary experiences faced during the past year and Rosen – “not dead yet,” he says – considers how we can emerge from the pandemic with a more equal future.
Originally established as the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, Just Festival celebrates humanity in all its differences and encourages the exploration of new perspectives in the hope of reducing religious, political and social intolerance.
Festival director Helen Trew says: “The last year has shattered many illusions and laid bare the inequality at the heart of our society. So, as we come of age, it is time to put our shoulder to the wheel of a better, fairer, inclusive future for us all.”
Running from 6th – 30th August, the festival features a range of innovative events and art installations presented, through a blend of digital discussion and performance plus live audience event, in St John’s Church and the surrounding area.
The No Alleluias requiem, a mix of live and virtual choir, was inspired by preacher and theologian Rev Dr Karen George Thompson and describes her experience of last Easter Sunday.
Having lost her father to Covid and been infected with the virus herself, she also saw her community suffer and found the uplifting Easter message replaced with melancholy.
The resulting choral work, composed by Anthony Hammond with lyrics by Robert Rae, is an extraordinarily moving piece and will help close this year’s festival.
The programme also includes:
a live installation of Peace Cranes when 140,000 origami birds will be positioned throughout St John’s Church as symbols of hope for inter-generational justice and a call for a solution to the nuclear and climate emergencies;
Photography under Siege, an exhibition of photographer Mahmoud al Khurd’s images of life in Gaza today and an evening of music and conversation with Northern Irish peace activist Tommy Sands.
And the Cabaret of Dangerous ideas returns this year, looking at issues including children’s access to nature and outdoor play, debating whether we need to-re-wild youngsters.
With the exception of the No Alleluias performance, all events are free to attend, although a donation is suggested to support the festival whose main sponsors this year are Elephants in Action, a part of ELE Global, with support from EventScotland, Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund and the Culture & Business Fund Scotland, managed by Arts & Business Scotland.
Helen Foord, CEO and founder of ELE Global comments: “The team is delighted to be supporting Just Festival again, helping to celebrate 21 fantastic years.
“And we’re proud to be associated with an event whose values of tolerance and encouraging new ways of looking at the world are ever more important in these challenging times.”
Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, said: “The Just Festival is a timely event that I am sure will spark engaging debate while offering a welcome return to in-person experiences for audiences alongside its impressive virtual programme and I am delighted that EventScotland has been able to support it through Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund.”
A new, powerful collection of writing has highlighted the lived experiences of people living with, and tackling, poverty in their communities.
Disturbing yet timely, this collection of writing from students of the Health Issues in the Community course (HIIC) reveals the corrosive effect that poverty and inequality are having on a day-to-day basis in modern Scotland.
As a society that believes in compassion and justice, the writings act as a call to action to address inequalities and the increasing number of people being swept up in the wake of crushing poverty.
Public health specialists have drawn attention to the serious impact inequalities have – made even worse by the global health crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amidst the grim picture that is so minutely described, the writings are also witness to the power of community, of kindness, of the sense of ‘the commonweal’ that is alive in our communities.
Broadcaster and journalist Lesley Riddoch, who provided the publication’s foreword, said: “From all the grimness of lockdown and the staleness of news comes this wee gem of a collection – words from folk who live at the sharp end of life in Scotland.
“I’ve no doubt that the folk involved in this HIIC course will use the insights and comradeship they’ve gained to start moving mountains – while taking care of one another.”
Health Issues in the Community is an SQA-accredited course for adults and young people that helps students understand what affects their health and the health of their communities.
Running for more than 20 years, HIIC brings a community development approach to tackling health inequalities and reaches more than 300 participants each year.
While the HIIC course encourages participants to widen and deepen awareness of health issues in their communities and their involvement, we cannot solve this issue alone. Political action is required by governments to ensure Scotland is no longer defined by poverty and inequality in the 21st century.
These writings provide the voices of lived experience to help make that a reality.
Fiona Garven, Director of the Scottish Community Development Centre, said:“These students’ writings are a stark reminder of the impact of poverty in communities across Scotland – and the power of people coming together to take action on the things that are important to them.
“With a firm foundation in community development practice, HIIC has been tackling health and social issues for more than 20 years. These writings act as further evidence for community-led responses to health inequalities, enabling students to explore and take action to address their own health issues and the health of their communities.”
Bill Gray, Organisational Lead, Public Health Scotland said:“Public Health Scotland is proud to have supported the development of the HIIC course and recognises the need to listen to voices from our communities has never been more important.
“Our Strategic Plan sets out a clear ambition to embed engagement with communities across all of our programmes of work and the experiences of HIIC participants, set out in this powerful new publication is an invaluable resource for anyone working to address health inequalities in Scotland.”
On average a woman in her twenties today is set to retire with £100,000 less in her pension than a man the same age. To make up the difference they’d have to start work a lot younger.
There a lots of reasons that the average 20 year old women is on course to have £100,000 less in her pension than a man the same age.
The amount people save into their pension is generally a percentage of their salary or income. So anything that reduces your income will directly affect your pension.
Women are more likely to face life events which negatively affect how they save for their retirement.
They’re more likely to take time out to raise a family, manage caring responsibilities, be in lower paid roles or work part time (75% of part time workers are women*).
The gender pay gap also plays it’s part so its really important to raise awareness around how these challenges can impact retirement planning, but we’re here to help and there are things you can do to help reduce the gender pension gap.
* Scottish Widows Women & Retirement Report 2020.
Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which?, said:“Our research has shown that women face significant disparities when it comes to saving for retirement, with mothers particularly at risk of retiring with smaller pensions – potentially tens of thousands less over their careers than men and women working full-time.
“To address this imbalance, the government should make a contribution to the pensions of first-time parents to ensure they can retire with an adequate pension pot.”
Social Renewal Advisory Board report: January 2021
Tackling poverty and inequality can be central to Scotland’s recovery from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a new report.
The Social Renewal Advisory Board has published 20 Calls to Action to help create a fairer country, with recommendations around the themes of Money and Work; People, Rights and Advancing Equality; and Communities and Collective Endeavour.
The report, If not now, when?, will now be considered by the Scottish Government.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “This ambitious report is a challenge to be bold as we recover from COVID-19.
“It recognises the strong response to the pandemic which has taken place across Scotland thanks to the collective efforts of local and national government, communities, organisations and individuals. The actions recommended build on work to tackle poverty and reduce inequality, taking a human-rights based approach.”
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Everyone has felt the impacts of the virus, but those who were already facing disadvantage have faced even greater challenges.
“We are committed to ensuring our renewal, alongside our response, ensures a Fairer Scotland for everyone no matter their circumstances.”
Sally Thomas, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations Chief Executive and Joint Chair of the report’s Editorial Sub-Group said: “While there is no doubt the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges, it has also re-energised work to tackle the inequalities that persist and stand in the way of Scotland becoming the inclusive, fair and progressive country we all want.”
Fellow Joint Chair and Chief Executive of Crisis Jon Sparkes said: “If accepted and implemented, the calls to action in this report will transform Scotland, building on firm foundations of social justice by continuing to tackle poverty and inequality, ensuring basic rights are realised and working towards fairer, healthier and empowered communities.
“We must seize this opportunity because if not now, when?”
commit to working towards a Minimum Income Guarantee for all
offer skills, training and qualifications programmes targeted to those most affected by the pandemic – including disabled people, minority ethnic communities and lone parents
commit to a new Affordable Housing Programme, delivering 53,000 affordable homes, including 37,100 homes for social rent
set a target to end digital exclusion in the next parliamentary term
work with local government and other partners to give more say to people and communities over the decisions which affect their lives
strengthen approaches to address and prevent hate crime and public sexual harassment.
Expertise and experience wanted to help tackle poverty and inequality
Ideas are being gathered to drive a fairer recovery in the wake of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Organisations and community groups are being asked to share ideas and evidence based on their experiences of responding to the pandemic, and their engagement with people with lived experience of poverty and inequality.
Responses will help inform the work of the Scottish Government’s Advisory Board on Social Renewal, which is tasked with building on the positive policy and practice shifts seen during COVID-19 to tackle disadvantage and poverty, and advance equality and social justice.
Analysis of responses will feed into the board’s discussions, and a report on the outcomes will be published later this year.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the health, wealth and emotional wellbeing of our communities is vital to inform our response to and recovery from the pandemic. We also know particular groups have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
“That’s why we established the Social Renewal Advisory Board to focus on reducing poverty and disadvantage and advancing equality across a range of issues.
We now want to hear from the many organisations and community groups working on social renewal that will have adapted, changed and repurposed in light of COVID-19. There is significant learning on this to be shared and we want to capture that expertise.
“Our call for ideas and evidence will help us drive forward our ambitions on creating a fairer, more equal society and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are heard.”
The call for ideas and evidence will run until 16 October.
