Tag: Poverty

Tackling Scotland’s health inequalities requires immediate joined-up action, warns Holyrood Committee

A Scottish Parliament inquiry has concluded by calling for urgent, coordinated action across all levels of Government in the UK to tackle health inequalities in Scotland.

A wide-ranging report by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee calls for urgent action to address health inequalities, and for tackling poverty to be considered a major public health priority at all levels of Government in order to address this.

Read the report

The Committee heard evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic and the rapidly rising cost of living have further exacerbated Scotland’s health inequalities.

The Committee is calling for action across the UK and the Scottish governments, and by local authorities, which it says is essential if these inequalities are to be tackled effectively. This includes further public service reform and strategic action across multiple policy areas.

Among its recommendations, the Committee is calling for action on education, employment and housing to improve health outcomes and better tackle health inequalities. It says safe, secure and affordable housing must be available for all and highlights the significant impact planning policy can have on health outcomes and, if implemented poorly, in widening inequalities.

In compiling its report, the majority of the Committee agreed with the recommendation by the Glasgow Centre of Population Health that, within budget constraints, the UK Government should take action to align benefits and tax credits with inflation and to reinstate the uplift in Universal Credit introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report also highlights extensive evidence submitted to the inquiry that informal and unpaid caring has a disproportionate impact on health outcomes and that informal carers face significant health inequalities as a result.

To address this issue, the Committee calls on the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland to provide more targeted support for carers.

Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “The evidence is clear that health inequalities in Scotland continue to grow, while the pandemic and ongoing cost of living crisis will only exacerbate these inequalities further.

“A number of witnesses contributing to the inquiry argued that, over the past decade, UK Government policies on austerity have also had a negative impact on health inequalities in Scotland.

“We are particularly concerned that the rising cost of living will have a greater negative impact on those groups already experiencing health inequalities, including those living in poverty and those with a disability.

“Government action to date to tackle health inequalities has not been enough in the face of decades-long, major impacts on household incomes. We are calling for urgent action across all levels of government to reduce these stark inequalities which have real life and death consequences.

“There is currently no overarching national strategy for tackling health inequalities in Scotland. Meanwhile, evidence submitted to our inquiry has revealed multiple instances where the design and delivery of public services may be exacerbating inequalities rather than reducing them. We need to deliver further public service reform to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen.

“The reasons why we have failed to make progress in tackling health inequalities are many and varied. Reducing these will require bold and strategic action across all levels of government and by a range of government departments. Tackling health inequalities must be a major public health priority because lives literally depend on it.”

Other key findings in the report include:

  • The Committee express concern that certain vulnerable families report being excluded from free childcare provision, including those who care for disabled children and those who do not have a standard Monday-Friday work pattern.
  • A majority of the Committee is supportive of the concept of a universal basic income and calls on the Scottish Government to work with the relevant UK agencies to consider whether a pilot of the policy could take place in Scotland in order to begin to address health inequalities. A Committee majority would also like to see the implementation of a minimum income guarantee in Scotland.
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Living without a Lifeline – a shocking snapshot of the crisis facing single parent families in Scotland

OPFS releases new research report based on survey of 260 single parents

Feedback from 260 single parents highlights their experiences and priorities, which includes cost of living, family finances, social security, childcare, employment, access to education, mental health and wellbeing, and the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

Findings showed:

  • 78% of single parents are in work and the same percentage of single parents receive a social security benefit.
  • Almost all (97.9%) of participants said they felt the impact of rising costs.
  • Three in five (61.1%) of participants said they are finding it either extremely difficult to afford or could no longer afford electricity, while 58.1% said the same about gas, and 43.7% said the same about food.
  • More than one in five participants said they can no longer afford to buy clothes (21.2%), pay for travel (22.3%) or childcare (21.2%) at all.
  • Most participants in the research were women, which is in keeping with the national statistic that 92% of single parent households are headed by women.

The findings of the research and the proposals for policy change suggested by single parents themselves have been used to produce a series of recommendations.

OPFS is calling on the Scottish Government to:

  • Increase support to families with young parents who are the poorest in Scotland through a top-up to the Scottish Child Payment.
  • Double the planned “bridging payments” for families with children in receipt of free school meals from £130 to £260.
  • Uprate Scotland’s 8 social security payments by the rate of inflation – 10% in August 22 and predicted by the Bank of England to hit 13.3% in October.
  • Widen eligibility for school clothing grants and free school meals to all families on Universal Credit by legislating to remove all income thresholds.
  • Increase the value and widen eligibility to the new Scottish Carer’s Assistance payment so it reaches many more Carers.
  • Raise increased finances through devolved taxes. Since 2017, the Scottish Parliament has had the ability to set income tax rates and bands, apart from the personal allowance. We also support IPPR’s call for radical reform of council tax to make it fairer and to raise extra finance for public services.

OPFS says the UK Government should:

  • Introduce progressive tax measures to reduce inequality.
  • Tackle the immediate cost-of-living crisis for low-income families with emergency interventions.
  • Introduce single parents’ rights and protection from discrimination into law.
  • Invest in a social security system that prevents child poverty, treating single parent families with dignity and respect.
  • Make childcare work for single parents by enhancing support for childcare costs through Universal Credit.
  • Support single parents into well paid, family friendly employment.
  • Make the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) fairer and fit for purpose.

Satwat Rehman, OPFS CEO said: “Living without a lifeline is exactly what so many single parents who took part in our research and who reach out to our services every day say they are doing, which is why we chose this as the title for our report.

“Women who are single parents have been particularly hard hit by the economic storm that has engulfed us and, with women’s poverty being inextricably linked to child poverty, we are living amid a rising tide of family hardship.

“Single parents described the day-to-day struggle to afford food and fuel, and the need to make sacrifices to ensure that children’s basic needs were met. In some cases, mothers go without food and struggle to pay essential bills. Isolation, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts were described.

“The parents responding have also forcefully described the policy areas which must be prioritised by government to tackle poverty and support family wellbeing and the priority areas where we at OPFS need to focus our energies. Over the coming year, these priorities will be our priorities.”

One key theme raised by participants was the difficulty in meeting the demands to pay for uniforms, school trips, and the many other requirements for daily school life. While costs are rising across the board, support for families in these areas is not increasing, leading to an even greater drain on household budgets.

A single mum who took part in the research said: “There is always something extra to pay for – sponsored events, book fairs, craft fairs, Christmas fairs, Halloween costume, Red Nose Day, Christmas jumper, wear a certain colour for sports day, world book day costume, etc …

“Parental events are held either during working hours or in the evening so I feel excluded as I can’t afford a babysitter- shame online events aren’t continuing.”

The research also found that single parents were struggling to afford to pay for essentials regardless of whether they were in paid work and that support through social security did not go far enough.

One single parent commented: “I just feel that I’m totally on my own financially. We can’t claim free school meals or any grants because I’m not on benefits (except Child Benefit).

“Outgoings are increasing, I am as frugal as I can be, my pay was frozen for 3 years and now I have a 2% cost of living increase, better than nothing! Children’s father has not contributed a penny for years now.

“Feel forgotten about. I cut my own hair, I skip meals, I scrimp on heating etc so I can pay the mortgage etc. There is no support for us from anyone.”

Some single parents contributing to the research shared their experiences of living with unmanageable levels of debt, often as a result of losing their job, illness or economic abuse following a relationship breakdown and not having savings to act as a buffer.

One single mum said: ““Father used to pay maintenance when he felt like it, but now has a limited company to avoid declaring his actual income.

“I can’t afford anything and feel like I’m stuck in debt forever. Utilities went from £90 to £160 and is only going to rise.”

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Planning vital to stem rising child poverty, says Audit Scotland

Longer-term joint planning is needed to address child poverty in Scotland, which has increased since targets were set in 2017, according to a new Audit Scotland report.

The Scottish Government’s policies and spending remain more focused on helping children out of poverty rather than long-term measures to prevent it. Over a quarter of children in Scotland – 260,000 – were living in poverty before the Covid-19 pandemic. And the current cost-of-living crisis risks making the situation worse.

Covid-19’s impact on data collection means child poverty statistics are only available up to 2019/20, the half-way point in the Scottish Government’s first child poverty plan. But even with the data it would not be possible to assess the plan’s success. This is because the Scottish Government did not set out what impact the 2018-22 plan was expected to have on levels of child poverty.

The government’s second child poverty delivery plan takes a more joined-up approach to tackling child poverty, spanning central and local government and their partners. But detailed joint planning is now needed to ensure policy actions are delivered and progress measured. Policy development also needs to meaningfully involve the views of children and families with experience of poverty.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Poverty affects every aspect of a child’s wellbeing and life chances and has wider implications for society.

“The Scottish Government needs to work with its partners to quickly set out the detail of how the second child poverty plan will be delivered, monitored and evaluated.

“Government policy takes time to have an impact on child poverty and so it is essential ministers also act now to set out options for reaching their long-term targets in 2030.”

William Moyes, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils have a key role to play in tackling child poverty through measures such as housing, education, childcare and employability. But there is limited information available across councils about what they are doing and its impact.

“Better collection and sharing of information about councils’ child poverty work will help support learning and improvement across Scotland.”

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Charity acts to support homeless people as services close their doors on day of state funeral

‘shocked to the extreme to hear that Scotland’s homeless charities and other key providers are closing their doors at this time’

In response to the closure of frontline services and businesses for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday, Homeless Project Scotland opened an emergency Soup Kitchen which served warm food and other provisions from 8pm on Argyle Street under the ‘heilanman’s umbrella’.

This provision was in addition to the charity’s 24/7 free helpline for those at risk of homelessness or are homeless. 

Raja Rani in Bearsden and Tantrum Donuts were among the local businesses to support the project’s initiative.

Speaking on the eve of the state funeral, a spokesperson for Homeless Project Scotland said: “We appreciate that tomorrow will be an emotional day for our country, however we also must recognise that tomorrow will bring challenges for those who are vulnerable and homeless in being able to source and access warm and nutritious food, in addition to support given tomorrow’s closures of food banks and other homeless charities closing their doors at this time. 

“It is disappointing and we are shocked to the extreme to hear that throughout Scotland homeless charities and other key providers are closing their doors at this time. It must be recognised however that Homelessness does not stop tomorrow, and as such we must uphold our principles at this difficult time and ensure that nobody goes to bed with an empty stomach . 

“This is particularly going to be felt in Glasgow especially given that those who are homeless and in the city’s hotels used for accommodating the homeless will only be able to provide breakfast, consisting of a cereal bar, due to the removal of evening meals from all hotel based accommodation since May this year. 

“This service will not affect our normal Soup kitchen operations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.“

Scottish Child Payment pays out £84 million

Child poverty benefit helping 104,000 children

A total of £84 million has been paid to families since it was introduced less than 18 months ago.

The payment of £20 per week, unique to Scotland in the UK, began in February 2021 as a direct measure to tackle child poverty. It provides regular, additional financial support to parents and carers to help with the costs of caring for a child.

As of 30 June 2022, it is estimated that 104,000 children were actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment and 1.4 million payments have now been made.

By the end of this year the payment will increase to £25 per week and extend to include all eligible children under the age of 16 when it is expected that over 400,000 children will potentially be eligible.

Responding to the latest official statistics on Scottish Child Payment published today Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “We are taking a number of urgent actions to address the current cost crisis.

“This includes efforts to maximise financial support to those most in need so that they get all the money they are entitled to. The ongoing work to extend eligibility for and increase the value of the Scottish Child Payment is a vital part of these efforts.

“We created our game changing Scottish Child Payment to provide direct financial support to tackle child poverty. Every penny of support is absolutely vital at the moment, which is why we are using our devolved powers and resources to make a difference for as many households as we can.

“We doubled the payment to £20 in April and will increase it to £25 when we extend it to under 16s by the end of the year – a 150% rise in this important benefit which is one of five family benefits we are now delivering.

“The Scottish Government want to support families during these difficult times.”

Scottish Child Payment is part of a wider package of five family payments including: Best Start Grant Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment, Best Start Grant School Age Payment and Best Start Foods

Oxfam: Second Hand September

Is sustainability your bag? Sign up to Second Hand September and show the world that any outfit looks fabulous when it’s helping to protect the planet!

By shopping only second hand for 30 days with Oxfam, you can give everything from t-shirts to trousers a brand new lease of life. 

Plus, you’ll reduce demand for new clothes, help reduce damage to our planet, and raise money to help communities hit by poverty and the climate crisis.

Sign up to get:

  • Handy tips and tricks on how to revamp your wardrobe sustainably
  • 20% discount code for the Oxfam online shop
  • The chance of winning front row tickets to the Oxfam London Fashion Week show

Share your eco-friendly outfits on socials using #SecondHandSeptember and tag @OxfamGB

1 in 5 key worker households have children living in poverty

  • Around 1 million children with key worker parents are living below the breadline, research shows
  • In some parts of Britain more than two-fifths of kids in key worker households are living below the breadline
  • Poverty levels “likely to get worse” as ministers hold down pay
  • Key workers in the public sector facing another year of real-terms pay cuts

ONE in 5 (19%) key worker households have children living in poverty, new TUC research has revealed.

The research, which uses the government definition for key workers, shows that the number of kids growing up in poverty in key worker households has increased by 65,000 over the past two years to nearly 1 million (989,000) in 2022.

It forecasts that in 2023 that number will rise again to 1.1 million unless ministers take further action to support families.

North East hit hardest

The analysis – undertaken for the TUC by Landman Economics – highlights how in some regions of the UK more than two-fifths of children in key worker households are now living in poverty.

Key worker families in the North East (41%) have the highest rate of child poverty followed by the North West (29%) and London (29%) and the East of England (24%).

Scotland (8.3%) and Wales (8.9%) have the lowest rates.

Worse set to come

The TUC warned child poverty rates among key worker households are likely to get worse.

Ministers have announced another of year of real-terms pay cuts for key workers in the public sector.

The union body says this will have a devastating impact on frontline workers after a brutal decade of pay freezes and cuts:

  • Hospital porters’ real pay will be down by £200 this year 
  • Maternity care assistants’ real pay will be down by £600 this year 
  • Nurses’ real pay will be down by £1,100 this year
  • Paramedics’ real pay will be down by over £1,500 this year 

And ministers are calling for wages to be held down for some key workers in the private sector too.

The TUC says the additional support announced by the Treasury this year to help families with energy bills will be offset by cuts to real-terms pay and other rising living costs.

Risk of recession

The TUC says government calls for widespread pay suppression will reduce household spending and demand as the UK teeters on the brink of recession.

The union body highlighted how at the same time key workers are being told to tighten their belts, city bonuses are rocketing.

TUC analysis published in June month revealed that bonuses in the financial and insurance sector grew by 27.9% over the last year, six times faster than average wages in the same period, which grew by 4.2%.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Our amazing key workers got us through the pandemic. The very least they deserve is to be able to provide for their families.

“But the government is locking too many key worker households into poverty.

“Ministers’ heartless decision to hold down pay will cause widespread hardship and put the UK at greater risk of recession.

“After the longest wage squeeze in 200 years we urgently need to get more money in the pockets of working families. This will help people get through this cost of living crisis and inject much-needed demand into our economy.

“It is particularly galling that as key workers are being told to tighten their belts, city executives are enjoying bumper bonuses. Once again ordinary working people are being forced to carry the can for a crisis made in Downing Street.”

Support needed for key worker families

The TUC is calling on the government to guarantee decent living standards by:

  • Raising the national minimum wage immediately.
  • Giving all key workers a fair pay rise that meets the cost of living
  • Funding the public sector so that all outsourced workers are paid at least the real Living Wage and get parity with directly employed staff.
  • Boosting universal credit to 80% of the real Living Wage
  • Significantly increasing benefit payments to children and removing the two-child limit within social security.  

Children in poverty in key worker households by UK nation and region in 2022

RegionTotal number of children in key worker familiesNumber of children in poverty in key worker familiesPercentage of children in poverty in key worker families
North East170,58670,31141.2%
North West600,325174,49529.1%
Yorks & the Humber434,33547,65911.0%
East Midlands426,33549,15011.5%
West Midlands396,75693,15623.5%
East of England490,577115,56323.6%
London661,487189,69128.7%
South East811,614125,84815.5%
South West362,53943,28711.9%
Wales249,78922,2858.9%
Scotland445,82637,0058.3%
Northern Ireland146,35320,78714.2%
Total5,196,522989,23719.0%

Curfews proposed for parents who fail to pay child maintenance

Parents who refuse to pay child maintenance could face curfews, as Ministers plan new powers for the Child Maintenance Service.

The change is being considered as part of fresh proposals that will get more of the money that is owed to the children of separated parents.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) collected or arranged £1 billion in child maintenance payments last year, operating as a crucial weapon in the battle against child poverty. Child support payments help lift around 140,000 children out of poverty each year.

Curfew orders would be another method of enforcement, alongside current powers which include passport and driving license confiscation and earnings deduction orders, to tackle parents who continually refuse to pay maintenance owed.

As an alternative sanction to prison, which is costly and prevents maintenance getting to children, curfews would act as a deterrent by restricting and disrupting non-compliant parents’ lifestyles, stopping them, for example, from going out for dinner, to the pub or going on holiday.

The curfews would be monitored by an electronic tag with an electronic monitoring service applying the tag, monitoring and making sure the parent complies with the rules of the tag. If parents fail to comply, the CMS would be able refer them back to court which might then extend the curfew order or impose a prison sentence.

DWP Lords Minister Baroness Stedman-Scott said: “For children in low-income households, maintenance payments can make all the difference, lifting them out of poverty.

“We are not afraid to go after those parents who deliberately and repeatedly refuse to pay for their children.

“Curfew orders are another step towards providing the CMS with a full arsenal of powers to make sure children get the financial support they need to have the best start in life.”

This builds on a new powers introduced earlier this year to digitise all communications to parents and improvements to help the service trace the paying parent, calculate maintenance and enforce arrears more effectively.

The consultation is published here and closes on 12 August 2022.

School Pantry Cupboards directly support children in need

MCKS Charitable Foundation UK provides schools across the country with support for food, toiletries and sanitary products by sending a weekly delivery to stock up their pantry cupboards.  

The charity currently supports 16 schools across the country and aims to increase this to 100 within 12 months.  Each school cupboard supports around 25 families a week and has become a vital life line for children and their families.

The Charity’s Chairman Les Flitcroft says: “Our charity is dedicated to providing caring and compassionate support and our school pantry cupboards provide an efficient way to get food and supplies directly to children who need them most”. 

Westminster UTC School in London who has received care packages from the charity commented: “Genuinely, we are extremely grateful for the support from MCKS Charitable Foundation UK.

“Quite often our students confuse feeling sick with being hungry but we are not always in a position to offer them anything other than water, the cereal bars provided helped them throughout the exam week.

“For many of our pupils who are facing homelessness or challenging financial situations at home, having basic items such as deodorant and shower gel will mean we can practically support our students in a very important yet discreet way with this help”.

Stewards Academy in Harlow, Essex has been receiving weekly food deliveries from the charity for over a year and are extremely grateful for the support: “The help from MCKS Charity this year has helped many at a time of worry, and the support of vouchers, food, sanitary supplies and toiletries has been invaluable to our families.

“We cannot thank the charity enough for their tireless work for our community of Harlow”.

Les added: “As with any charity we rely on donations to keep our services going and we would like to partner with corporate companies who can support the charity to continue this vital support”.

Schools who feel they could benefit from this ongoing service are asked to contact the charity for further information.