Tag: Poverty

Scotland in crisis

The amount given in crisis grants to those most in need has increased by more than a third, latest figures show. The Scottish Welfare Fund paid out a total of £3.2 million in crisis grants between July and September 2019 – 34% more than the same period the previous year.

The Scottish Welfare Fund is distributed by local authorities and provides Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants.

Crisis Grants help families on low incomes with unexpected expenses arising out of an emergency or a disaster. Community Care Grants help those on low incomes live independently in the community or to help people maintain their home in the face of exceptional pressure.

The most common reason families said they applied for emergency funding was because their benefits or other income had been spent – up 33% on the previous year.

Estimates suggest the UK Government’s social security spending in Scotland is set to reduce by £3.7 billion per year by 2021. In addition, the benefit freeze and benefit cap are now in their fourth year.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is the latest evidence that the UK Government’s swingeing benefit cuts are hitting the poorest in Scotland hardest.

“The large increase in people applying for emergency funding shows how much those on low incomes are struggling just to make ends meet.

“The Scottish Government will not stand by and let people who are already in need continue to face a reliance on food banks and the stress of debt and rent arrears.

“That’s why we are continuing to spend over £100 million each year to mitigate the worst effects of the UK Government welfare cuts – part of the £1.4 billion we spent last year to support low income households.

“This is money we should be able to invest elsewhere to help pull people out of poverty but we instead we need to use it to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

“We are introducing the Scottish Child Payment to tackle child poverty head on which will start for eligible families with a child under six by Christmas. But there is no doubt that without the cuts inflicted on families by the UK Government this could go so much further.”

Stockbridge is Scotland’s ‘least deprived’ area

The latest update of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2020 has been published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Stockbridge is oficially Scotland’s least deprived area and it’s joined in the top ten by Blackhall, marchmont and Morningside.

SIMD is a tool for identifying the places in Scotland where people are experiencing disadvantage across different aspects of their lives. SIMD gives a ranking for each small area, or data zone, which shows how deprived that area is compared to other areas. Changes in the rank for one area may be due to other areas becoming more or less deprived.

The latest figures show:

  • the least deprived area is in Stockbridge in Edinburgh. This represents a change since SIMD 2016, when the least deprived area was in Giffnock
  • the most deprived area is in Greenock town centre. This represents a change since SIMD 2016 and 2012, when the most deprived area was identified as Ferguslie Park, Paisley
  • the area with the largest local share of deprived areas was Inverclyde, with 45% of data zones among the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland
  • Glasgow City has similar deprivation levels at 44%
  • other local authorities with relatively high levels of deprivation include North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire at 40% and Dundee City at 38%
  • Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Shetland and Orkney have no areas among the 20% most deprived in Scotland, however, this does not mean there are no people experiencing deprivation living there
  • over half of people on low income do not live in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland
  • levels of deprivation have fallen in Glasgow City, Renfrewshire and City of Edinburgh compared to SIMD 2016. Glasgow City showed the biggest fall, from 48% of data zones in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland, to 44%
  • levels of deprivation have increased in Aberdeen City, North Lanarkshire, Moray, East Lothian, Highland and North Ayrshire. None of these increases are greater than 2 percentage points

Scotland’s Chief Statistician, Roger Halliday, said: “I welcome these statistics and the work done to make this complex information more easily accessible.

“I know how widely the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is used as a vital resource for local planning, by third sector organisations bringing together resources needed to do their great work, and by many others.

“However, we must also focus on the strengths and assets of communities if we are to work together to make Scotland a fair and inclusive place to live.”

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Wealth rising, but inequality remains high

New statistics released by the Chief Statistician show rising household wealth in recent years, while wealth inequality remained high.

According to the latest data, households in Scotland had just over one trillion pounds in personal wealth in 2016-2018. Recent wealth growth since 2010-2012 was caused mainly by rising pension wealth.

Wealth inequality was more severe than income inequality: the 2% of households with the highest incomes had 9% of all income, while the wealthiest 2% of households had 15% of all wealth. After a previous decline, wealth inequality has been largely stable since 2010-2012.

A typical household in the wealthiest 10% of households had £1.6 million in total wealth, whereas a typical household in the least wealthy 10% of households had £7,500.

The least wealthy households rarely own property or have any private pension savings. Their wealth is mainly made up of the value of their possessions such as clothing or furniture.

Households that tend to be wealthier than others are pensioner couples, married couples, home owners or households with higher formal qualifications. On the other hand, households that often have below average wealth are lone parent households, those in social rented housing, or where the head of the household is unemployed or economically inactive but not retired.

One third of households had insufficient savings to cover basic living costs for three months in the event of an emergency. Three per cent of households were in unmanageable debt. A third of households had no property wealth, and almost a fifth of households had no private pension wealth.

The released figures were produced in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The best of times, the worst of times?

Read the full statistical publication.

What a waste: Holyrood spends £100 million to mitigate Tory welfare cuts

This year more than £100 million has been spent to mitigate the effects of UK Government austerity and this money could have been better spent on more anti-poverty measures, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said. Continue reading What a waste: Holyrood spends £100 million to mitigate Tory welfare cuts

Report calls for action to loosen the grip of poverty

People living on low incomes in Edinburgh have decried the city’s high living costs and called for increased action to loosen the grip of poverty in their lives, in a new report.

New research undertaken by the Poverty Alliance on behalf of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission has revealed the range of challenges faced by people struggling financially in Edinburgh, with high housing and living costs combining with low-paid work and benefit issues to lock them into poverty.

Many participants were struggling to afford day-to-day basics like food, transport and households bills due to a combination of low incomes and high living costs in the city. As a result, people are being forced to rely on foodbanks and on friends and family.

You can read the full report below.

The research revealed problems with the social rented housing system in Edinburgh, including a lack of adequate, available housing and long-term stays in inadequate temporary accommodation, which were having a significant impact on people’s lives.

Many participants felt displaced from Edinburgh city centre and had a perception that those with power valued tourism over the needs of local residents living on low incomes.

There were also major challenges faced by people seeking advice and support, with many either not knowing where to access this support or being faced with long waits for appointments at advice services.

Research participants shared their solutions to Edinburgh’s challenges. The need to recognise the higher cost of living in Edinburgh was the dominant theme, with solutions including greater action on housing (including more socially-rented properties and action to reduce private rents), more affordable transport, and more action to improve people’s awareness of their social security entitlements.

One Edinburgh resident who participated in the research said: “I’ve always believed that it’s very expensive to live and work in Edinburgh. Many people commute into Edinburgh because it’s cheaper to live outwith Edinburgh.

“But, you know, some of us ‘Edinburghers’ don’t want forced out of the city, we want to live in the city and I’ve always thought that Edinburgh should be treated a little bit like London is with a higher salary scale to incorporate the cost of living in the city centre.” 

Jim McCormick, Chair of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission, said: “It cannot be right that, on the eve of a new decade, one in five children in our wealthy capital city are living in poverty.

“This timely report shows the problem to be damaging, costly and spread across the city. Poverty can be solved if we involve people with first-hand experience. City-wide, further action to boost affordable housing and cut the cost of travel needs to be backed by employers offering a living wage and secure hours.

“Easy access to quality advice on money, debt, housing and care should be available to every neighbourhood. We can start to solve poverty by stopping the ‘pillar to post’ experience that too many citizens struggle with.”

Vice Chair of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission said: “At this time of year, more than ever, we need to consider those less fortunate than ourselves. Most of us will be downing tools and enjoying food, fun and games with family and friends but the stark reality is that there are too many people who still don’t have enough money to meet their basic needs over the festive season, let alone all the trimmings that come with it.

“The research published today is a startling reminder of this. The result of focus groups carried out with people who are actually experiencing poverty in Edinburgh today, it spells out their personal experiences, providing a valuable platform for setting policies and improving people’s lives in the future.”

Since the Edinburgh Poverty Commission was established in November 2018, three calls for evidence have received over 120 written responses, and forty face to face evidence sessions have been held.

Yesterday, as well as launching the new report, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission launched an online survey to find out what the people who live and work in Edinburgh think about solving poverty in their city.

The survey is open to everyone who works and lives in the city of Edinburgh, and aims to be the largest ever public consultation about poverty in the city.

The survey will remain open until Friday 11th January 2020 and can be accessed here: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Edinburgh_Poverty_Barometer_2019.

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