More than 14 million people in the United Kingdom (UK) are currently living in poverty, and the number of people experiencing deep poverty is increasing (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2024).
We worked with the Mental Health Foundation and researchers from the University of Strathclyde on this report, where we examine how experiences of poverty stigma are related to mental health outcomes in the UK.
Our aim was to understand the impact of poverty stigma and who is most affected in order to inform solutions.
It may have been a surprise election, and only been a six-week campaign, but for many people the ‘festival of democracy’ inspired little genuine enthusiasm (writes PTER KELLY, Chief Executive of The Poverty Alliance).
Perhaps this was because the outcome was so widely predicted and, in the end, seemed almost inevitable. More likely was that after years where many politicians were increasingly distrusted and political debates appeared disconnected from the realities of day-to-day life, the election held little interest for many.
Of course, the result was by no means guaranteed, no matter what the polls said. And if the result was not guaranteed, what comes next is still very much a subject for debate. What was clear from the result, though, is that the decline in trust in politics was very much in evidence at this election: turnout fell to 60%, the second lowest in more than 100 years.
But now that the votes have been cast, historic landside secured, MPs sworn in, and Ministers appointed, many of us who want to see progressive social and economic change are asking: now what?
Almost two weeks after the result, we are moving from the territory of ‘hot takes’ and instant analysis to a place where we can begin to see the emerging opportunities where progress could be made. The question for anti-poverty campaigners is how these opportunities can be turned into real change.
At a basic level, we need only look at the manifesto that the new Labour Government was elected upon to see what comes next and where the opportunities lie. In it we will find commitments that are to be welcomed.
For example, the package of change intended to improve the lives of working people, especially for those at the tough end of the labour market who get by on low pay and insecure contracts.
These are changes that reflect some of the priorities that we called for in our own election manifesto, especially around commitments to increasing the minimum wage and providing minimum working hours.
The Labour manifesto also contained a pledge to create a new child poverty strategy. One of the undoubted disappointments of the election campaign was the lack of discussion about poverty and inequality, particularly by both main UK political parties. At best the cost of living crisis was a proxy for discussions about poverty, but at no point was there any serious attempt to say how an incoming government would act to address the systemic failings at the heart of poverty.
Although commitments to labour market change and anti-poverty strategies are all very welcome, much of the detail on delivery remains unclear.
How, for example, will a child poverty strategy accommodate the current retention of the two-child limit? The reality is, of course, that any child poverty strategy must start with the scrapping of this policy, and then look to strengthen our social security system. The pressure building around the two-child limit in recent days is emblematic of the tensions that exist in the new Government’s current approach.
The new Prime Minister and Chancellor have been clear in this approach – economic growth is the central objective, the overriding mission, and at the same time public spending to be contained within the previous Conservative Government’s plans.
Neither of these commitments leave much immediate space for addressing poverty, despite the promise of a new strategic approach. As the IFS have said: ‘delivering genuine change will almost certainly also require putting actual resources on the table.’
It is this tension that the Government’s approach – a desire to address poverty but within current spending limits – that opens up a new space for anti-poverty campaigners. We must use the high-level commitments that have been made to deliver the substantive changes we know are needed.
This includes not only scrapping the two-child limit, but ending the benefit cap, stopping the five week wait for UC, introducing an Essentials Guarantee, and more. It also means seeking to shape debates about economic growth, highlighting that growth on its own will not solve poverty and that distribution and pre-distribution of resources needs to be part of the who our economy works for.
There are genuine opportunities to engage with the new UK Government, opportunities that have not existed for more than a decade. I’ve highlighted just a couple above, more will emerge in the months to come. For civil society organisations in Scotland and across the UK these opportunities to engage will be very welcome.
But it will be important for all of us seeking progressive change to remember what has been learned from engaging with Scottish Government’s over the last 25 years – access does not always equal influence. Simply having a meeting with a Minister, being invited onto an advisory group, responding to a consultation does not mean that demands will be translated into action. Of course, we need to engage in these discussions and activities, but we need to consider what else should be done to create change.
There is hope for change at the moment, but to turn that hope into action, to transform our demands into tangible, practical improvements in people’s lives, we need to be better organised across civil society.
We must do more to engage and raise the voices of the thousands of grassroots organisations and campaigners across Scotland and the UK that hold communities together. By raising these voices, by activating those who are in the frontline of the fight against poverty, we will create the necessary sense of urgency that is needed.
Our sector in Scotland involves more than 45,000 organisations, employing 135,000 people, with more than 1.1 million volunteers involved. We need to turn those numbers into an organised social movement, one that is broad based, inclusive and can make the demands the system change to both the Scottish and UK Governments.
At the Poverty Alliance we believe that there are real opportunities ahead of us to make change, but they will only be realised if we work together across civil society. Please join us to make these changes happen.
This election could be the most unequal in 60 years, with people on low incomes being shut out of our democracy.
The #VoteYourValues campaign gives our members access to tools that can help people in their communities get vote-ready.
In a democracy, everyone’s voice matters equally.
So it’s completely unjust that so many people on lower incomes get shut out from using their vote. This General Election looks set to be the most unequal for more than six decades, due to a ballooning turnout gap at elections and the growing role of money in British politics, according to a recent report from IPPR.
Scotland’s largest trade union body has implored the Scottish Government to “step up for Scotland” as the STUC launches their 2023 tax report showing an extra £3.7 billion could be raised per year using Scotland’s existing powers.
The report: ‘Raising tax to deliver for Scotland’ demonstrates how changes to income and property taxes from April next year could raise an additional £1.1 billion for Scotland’s public services.
Longer term, the introduction of wealth taxes, replacing the council tax with a proportional property tax and introducing a super tax on private jets, amongst other measures, could raise an additional £2.6 billion per year for Scottish public finances.
The STUC claim the tax measures are progressive and would reduce both income and wealth inequality. The updated report follows a similar paper from the STUC last year, demonstrating the full powers of the Scottish Parliament to raise public revenue through progressive taxation. The report also contains detailed analysis of how the council tax could be replaced in a way that ensures low-income households don’t lose out.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1731646493407232454
The move comes as a direct response to Deputy First Minister Shona Robison’s warnings of public sector workforce cuts ahead of the Scottish budget this December.
If fully implemented the £3.7 billion raised could fund 82,000 public sector workers. STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer has implored government ministers to “rise to the challenge” of protecting public services and reducing inequality, as increased funding pressures on the Scottish Government continue as a result of the UK Government’s autumn statement.
Commenting, Ms Foyer said: “Our updated tax report makes clear that the Scottish Parliament has the power to make a real difference to our communities and raise over £3.7 billion of additional revenue for our public services.
“The Scottish Government must step up for Scotland. It’s clear that, with one foot out the electoral door, the Tories are hellbent on saddling any future UK Government with devastating public sector cuts.
“We can choose a different path. It’s within the powers of our parliament – through income, land and additional dwelling taxes – to raise an initial £1.1 billion from April next year. Coupled with longer-term wealth, property and aviation taxes, the Scottish Government can raise another £2.6 billion.
“At a time when workers are suffering the biggest drop in living standards since records began, and our public services need investment more than ever, it would be a chronic dereliction of duty for government ministers to sit back and let workers suffer Tory-inflicted austerity.
“They must rise to the challenge. For the sake of our workers, communities and public services, there is simply no other option.
THE ROBERTSON TRUST has announced that six organisations have been awarded over £1.7M under their Financial Security Programme Awards. All of the projects are working to deliver big change that lasts on tackling poverty and trauma in Scotland.
Through our Financial Security theme, we want to fund, support and influence to improve income adequacy, income security, reduce cost-related pressures on finances and improve financial safety nets for people in financial trouble.
We made an open call for long-term change project ideas through our Programme Awards in October 2022 for organisations focused on delivering big change that lasts on financial security in Scotland.
Our Programme Awards will allow us to work alongside some of the organisations best placed to achieve impact on poverty and trauma in Scotland, allowing us to learn from them and them from us as we go.
The successful organisations include proposals to develop strengthening social security in Scotland, reducing the costs of essential goods and services, and preventing and relieving financial crisis now and in the future in Scotland.
We are pleased to share details of the organisations awarded funding:
One Parent Families Scotlandawarded £384,678.00. This project will deliver evidence-based recommendations to achieve transformational change to the UK child maintenance system to contribute to reducing child poverty. A partnership with One Parent Families Scotland, IPPR (Scotland) & Fife Gingerbread, each organisation will lead on different strands of work, while working together across all activities. Ambitious policy proposals will be developed, at both Scottish and UK government levels, to radically reform the child maintenance system (CMS), informed by robust evidence and lived experience. The project aims to see action to tackle immediate shortcomings of the existing child maintenance system, and secure public and political support for long-term, systemic reform.
The Poverty Alliance– awarded £492,697.00 to fund new work to tackle rural poverty. Too often people living on low incomes in rural parts of pay a premium for essential goods and services – food, energy, transport, etc. ‘Taking Action on Rural Poverty’ (TARP) will develop new ways of addressing rural poverty in Scotland by reducing the rural poverty premium. The project will do this by bringing together people with direct experience of poverty, community and voluntary organisations, the private sector and public bodies to identify and test solutions to the poverty premium. It will also work to improve processes to involve people in local decision making and to make changes to national policy that will affect rural poverty.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) – awarded £249,866.00 CPAG strengthening social security project aims to ensure the delivery of Scottish Child Payment and other national and local payments provide greater financial security and stability for those on the margins of entitlement or excluded altogether. The project will develop new ways of bringing together the voice of lived experience and CPAG’s social security expertise to develop and promote approaches that will ensure more families can access Scotland-based payments, and that these payments can be relied upon throughout changes in family’s circumstances. In so doing it will not only aim to prevent families being pulled into poverty but also look to secure greater financial stability for families in Scotland.
Save the Children – awarded £249,761.00. The aim of this ambitious project is to inspire and coalesce public support around sustainable policy solutions to meet Scotland 2030 child poverty targets and deliver financial security in Scotland. The project will provide evidence and deeper insight into public attitudes across Scotland on different interventions that could sustainably drive down child poverty. Importantly, it will build a narrative framework – informed by these insights and our lived experience panel – and work with partners across the sector to ensure policy makers and campaigners have evidence on where the public has an appetite for change. Through engagement and influencing the project will build a network of champions to help ensure that findings and insights are lived and breathed and can have real world impact far beyond the lifetime of this project.
The Trussell Trust – awarded £230,000.00. The Trussell Trust is launching a three-year project that will help gain an understanding of how to provide better access to and engagement with local advice and support services that reduce destitution and prevent food bank use. The project as a whole will run pilots in six areas – Glasgow, Perth & Kinross, North Lanarkshire, Dundee, Orkney, and Aberdeenshire. By testing different models in six localities that represent key geographies of Scotland, the aim is to learn which interventions work in different areas, support community-led priorities, evaluate and learn comparatively from their experiences, and make recommendations to local and national government. The Robertson Trust is providing funding to part-fund the whole project, alongside a number of other funders.
University of Strathclyde (Fraser of Allander Institute) – awarded £158,742.00. The Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD) are collaborating to address the limited understanding of the additional costs of disability in Scotland. The social model of disability recognises that people are disabled by barriers in society not by their impairment or disability. The extent to which financial barriers constrain and impact the lives of people with a learning disability and their families is a key part of our research. This project, co-produced with a researcher with lived experience, will provide valuable evidence for the Scottish Government for future programmes of social security reform.
Commenting on the announcement of the new Programme Awards, Robertson Trust Head of Programmes and Practice, Russell Gunson, said: “I’m delighted to share the details of the Robertson Trust’s new programme awards today.
“Each of the awards we have made have demonstrated the potential to deliver big change that lasts on poverty and trauma in Scotland. We’re really excited to be working together to make the most of the potential for long-term change in Scotland.
“Our support comes at a time when people and places facing poverty are experiencing gale force winds against them and their living standards. We have been living through crisis after crisis, stretching back through this cost-of-living emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic and at least back to the financial crash 15 years ago.
“It is often hard to think long-term when the immediate challenges are so pressing but the Trust has protected significant funds for this long-term change work so that we can prevent poverty and trauma in the future, while also helping to make a difference here and now.
“We will only be successful if we commit to the belief that things can change – we’ve made progress before and we know we can again – if we build the participation, partnerships and coalitions necessary to make change irresistible, and if we build social change over the long-term to reshape the systems and structures that sit underneath why we have the levels of poverty, trauma and inequality that we do.
“We look forward to working with each of the projects and are keen to learn alongside them, to understand what helps and hinders in achieving our mutual ambition of ending poverty and trauma, and its negative impacts, in our society.”
Commenting on the announcement of the Programme Awards, David Reilly, Communities and Networks Manager at the Poverty Alliance said:“Rural poverty is an issue of growing concern for the Poverty Alliance.
“This important grant from Robertson Trust will not only allow us to test ideas to practically take action on rural poverty, but will also help us to strengthen the networks and relationships that we need to make long term progress on rural poverty.”
John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said:“Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland is delighted to be awarded funding by The Robertson Trust. This grant provides us with a unique opportunity to help shape the way Scottish Child Payment and other local and national payments support those currently on the margins.
“It will enable us to bring our expertise together with the voice of lived experience to prevent poverty and increase families financial stability by helping create more inclusive, consistent and secure financial support through the social security system”.
Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland, said:“One Parent Families Scotland is delighted to receive this funding from The Robertson Trust. Child maintenance is an issue which single parents have raised with us time and again, calling for there to be a fairer and more equitable system.
“Four in ten children in poverty in Scotland live in a single parent family but maintenance payments can contribute to the costs of raising a child and in giving them a decent quality of life.
“However, over £474 million in child maintenance in the UK has gone unpaid – money owed to children. This is an issue of children’s rights and the rights of the child to financial support.
” Working alongside our amazing partners IPPR Scotland and Fife Gingerbread we will develop ways of supporting families through the maze that is the current child maintenance system and work with families to design a model that works for them and contributes to lifting children out of poverty. “
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children said:“We are thrilled to have received The Robertson Trust grant for this exciting work.
“We believe this will be a game-changing project in the development of policy and actions to drive down child poverty and we can’t wait to get started”.
David Brownlee, the Trussell Trust’s Financial Inclusion Lead, Scotland, said:“We are delighted to be partnering with The Robertson Trust for this ambitious project. The Trussell Trust has just released its end of year stats, showing the highest levels of need ever in Scotland.
“The record levels of need seen this year, represents a 50% increase in the number of parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Scotland compared to five years ago in 2017/18.
“The chronic cost of living crisis has only deepened our commitment to end the need for food banks in Scotland and the whole of the Trussell Trust network – this project will play a key part in enabling us to see how to achieve that aim.”
Emma Congreve, Deputy Director of Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “The Fraser of Allander are delighted to be collaborating with SCLD and embarking on this project to produce better evidence to underpin more effective policy for people with learning disabilities in Scotland, especially as this will enable us to recruit and support a researcher with lived experience which we would not have been able to do without this investment.”
Our Living Wage Scotland team has had great success in encouraging 3,000 businesses in Scotland to become accredited Living Wage employers. Now the Living Wage Foundation is moving into a new area.
The Living Pension accreditation scheme was launched in Edinburgh on 21 March 2023. It is a voluntary savings target for employers and aims to help workers build up a pension pot that will provide enough income to meet basic everyday needs in retirement.
Research completed by the Resolution Foundation in 2022 showed that four in five workers, and 95% of low-paid workers, paying into defined contribution schemes are not saving at the level needed to reach an acceptable standard of living in retirement.
You can read more about Living Pensions here, and you can also sign up to a free webinar being hosted by the Living Wage Foundation on Tuesday 16 May 2023.
The First Minister will convene an urgent summit with energy supply companies and consumer groups later this month, to discuss how advice and support for people struggling with energy bills can be improved.
The summit will consider what collective action can be taken by government, energy companies and the third sector to help businesses and consumers access advice, and get support with debt issues.
Scotland’s major energy suppliers including Scottish Power, OVO Energy, Centrica, Octopus and E.ON, as well as industry bodies and key consumer and poverty organisations will attend.
The summit follows last week’s meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee on the cost living crisis and will take place ahead of OfGem’s next energy price cap announcement on 26 August.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I know that this is an incredibly unsettling time for households and energy consumers across Scotland and the Scottish Government will continue to do everything we can to support those affected.
“There is a not a single solution to this problem and government, industry and the third sector in Scotland needs to work collaboratively together to ensure the right support is in place for householders and businesses during this challenging winter. This could include improving the availability of help and advice and considering a more compassionate approach to debt management.
“However, it remains the case that the powers and resources needed to tackle this emergency on the scale required – access to borrowing, welfare, VAT on fuel, taxation of windfall profits, regulation of the energy market – lie with the UK Government.
“Only the UK Government can access and make available resources on the scale required. They need to take action, now. As I said last week, a first step would be to cancel the energy price cap rise this autumn.”
Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance said: “We are pleased that the First Minister will be convening this summit of energy companies, along with the Poverty Alliance and Energy Action Scotland.
“Across the country, people are increasingly being swept up amid a rising tide of hardship. But with the energy price cap due to increase in October, that tide threatens to become a flood.
“Households up and down Scotland are terrified of what the colder months will bring and the likelihood is that – without further action – lives and life chances will be at risk. The situation could scarcely be more urgent.
“But it is a situation we can do something about, by taking action to protect people most at risk of poverty and deeper hardship. It is that much-needed and urgent action that we are hoping the summit can bring about.”
Frazer Scott, CEO of Energy Action Scotland said: “With our colleagues at the Poverty Alliance, we welcome the First Minister’s intervention in gathering energy companies together to talk about how we can best support households struggling to afford spiralling energy bills.
“Fuel poverty will affect over one million Scottish households this winter requiring urgent intervention focussed on targeting those most in need.
“Cold, damp homes affect health and wellbeing and will put thousands of lives at risk as well as adding additional pressure to the NHS, making this a vital intervention for Scotland.”
The Scottish Government estimates that 906,000 or 36% of all households will be in fuel poverty in October 2022, based on an Ofgem price cap of £2,800 and taking into account previously announced government mitigations.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes announced a further £290 million in financial support to help address the rising cost of living at Holyrood yesterday.
Ms Forbes said that while the Scottish Government is awaiting final confirmation from the Treasury on funding allocations, the £290 million for Scotland announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last week is not likely to mean net additional funding. This is due to an expected reduction of a similar amount in other consequential funding previously anticipated through the forthcoming UK Government Supplementary Estimates.
Despite these budget pressures and existing support in place to help people, Scottish Ministers have honoured the commitment to allocate £290 million to help tackle the cost of living crisis and are going further to ensure those hardest hit have support.
New measures announced include:
£280 million to provide £150 to every household in receipt of Council Tax Reduction in any Band and to provide £150 to all other occupied households in Bands A to D. This means 1.85 million households, or 73% of all households, will receive financial support through their council tax bill or a direct payment
£10 million in 2022-23 to continue the Fuel Insecurity Fund to help households from rationing their energy use
This is in addition to the £120 million previously announced for local government in 2022-23.
A further £39.5 million has also been allocated to businesses from the £375 million of Omicron business support funding for the current financial year. Following consultation with businesses, who asked for financial support to now focus on economic recovery, this funding will help support local economies and cities continue their economic recovery and help build a more resilient economy.
Funding allocated includes:
£16 million for culture and major events
£7.5 million to support inbound tour operators
£6.5 million to support the childcare sector
£3.5 million for outbound travel agents
£3 million for city centre recovery
£3 million to help digitalise SMEs to increase competitiveness, productivity and drive growth
Ms Forbes said: “Large rises in energy bills, increased costs on every day essentials, rising interest rates and the UK Government’s new National Insurance hike are causing huge concern and worry, and people are struggling. These additional costs will hit the most vulnerable in our society, the hardest.
“That is why we will honour our commitment, whatever other Budget challenges we face, to pass on the full £290 million to help families now. I am therefore today announcing that there will be three elements to the package of support today.
“Firstly, we will provide £150 to every household in receipt of Council Tax Reduction in all Council Tax bands. The Council Tax Reduction Scheme already identifies households in greatest need and will allow us to target this intervention.
“Secondly, I will provide local authorities with funding to pass on £150 to other occupied household in Bands A to D in Scotland. In total, combining these elements, 1.85 million, or 73% of all households, will receive £150 of support. I know that the cost of living crisis is affecting households who are not in receipt of benefits, who are not claiming a Council Tax Reduction. And they are facing hardship too. We must seek to do what we can to prevent those households and families on the edge of the poverty line, from falling over it.
“Thirdly I am also announcing £10 million in 2022-23 to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund to help households at risk of self-disconnection, or self-rationing their energy use, due to unaffordable fuel costs.
“Households across Scotland, across the UK, are struggling with the wide range of rising costs and many of the macro levers, for example, around energy regulation reside with the UK Government. That is why I will be writing to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, again highlighting that we must work together urgently so we can use our joint powers to do more to tackle the cost of living.”
Responding to the Budget announcement Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: People across Scotland are feeling the grip of poverty tighten on their lives. But the measures announced today by the Scottish Government in response to the cost of living crisis do not do enough to target support at people on the lowest incomes.
Recovery strategy to help those hardest hit by Covid
People who have suffered the most as a result of the pandemic will be at the heart of Scotland’s Covid recovery strategy, the Scottish Government says.
For a fairer future sets out the next steps in Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic, recognising that while the pandemic has affected every area of life in Scotland, those who were already struggling have been hardest hit by its effects.
The strategy aims to address systemic inequalities made worse by Covid, improve people’s wellbeing, and remobilise public services to be more focused on people’s needs, building on lessons learned during the pandemic.
Actions to achieve this will include upskilling and retraining opportunities for workers impacted by the pandemic and the transition to net zero, help for low income families most at risk of poverty, and locally-based mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people.
While the strategy is focused over the next 18 months, it includes a series of actions over the course of this Parliament to deliver substantial improvements in child poverty, make significant progress towards net zero, and secure an economic recovery that is fair and green.
Deputy First Minister and Covid Recovery Secretary John Swinney said: “The impacts of this pandemic have not been felt evenly with the most disadvantaged suffering disproportionately from the virus, and the social and economic effects of lockdown restrictions.
“For that reason, our recovery must go further than how life was before Covid. This strategy sets out how we will do that, working with local government, the third sector, and businesses large and small.
“It is the product of months of engagement with a variety of individuals and organisations representing sectors across the country, including the Citizen’s Assembly and the Social Renewal Advisory Board.
“The experience of the past 18 months has shown us what can be achieved when we look past traditional barriers to get the right service or support to people when they need it.
“By working together with the same energy, imagination, and urgency as we approached the pandemic, we can drive a recovery that delivers more for all of Scotland.”
COSLA President Councillor Alison Evison said: “I welcome the publication of this strategy and its vision, which has many parallels with the COSLA Blueprint.
“Covid-19 has had an immeasurable impact on communities across Scotland and although we continue to respond to the many challenges it presents, we must also take the necessary action to address inequalities in our society that have only worsened as a result of the pandemic.
“Local Government will be at the heart of recovery, just as we were in response to the pandemic. Recovery is a shared endeavour that requires us all to work together to address the areas of greatest harm resulting from the pandemic, and deliver an inclusive and green recovery for all of Scotland.
“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government to deliver on a collaborative approach to recovery that is at all times rooted in the needs of the people that we serve.”
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “The levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland made the impact of the pandemic so much worse than it might otherwise have been. Insecure and undervalued employment, social security benefits that were inadequate and ingrained inequality all meant that some communities bore the brunt of Covid.
“As we look towards the end of the pandemic, it is right that the Scottish Government prioritises a recovery that addresses these underlying inequalities. Focusing on the creation of a wellbeing economy, tackling poverty and investment in social security, housing and decent public services is to be welcomed. Delivering on these priorities and retaining this focus on addressing inequalities must drive our recovery to Covid.”
Louise Macdonald OBE, National Director of the Institute of Directors Scotland said: “A strong, sustainable wellbeing economy and a fair, equal society are interdependent. We welcome the clarity in this strategy that a thriving economy underpins a successful recovery, especially in making the difference for those greatest affected by poverty and inequality.
“Leaders from business and cross-sector organisations in communities in every part of Scotland have played a vital part in the response to the pandemic in a myriad of ways and it is that spirit of collaboration, innovation and purpose – through collective effort and shared vision – which will deliver this ambitions of this strategy.”
Andrew McRae, Policy Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland said: “Scotland’s recovery from the Covid crisis won’t be possible without economic recovery.
“Smaller businesses have an impressive track record of creating jobs and healing communities after economic shocks – so they must be at the heart of implementing this welcome recovery plan.
“We’re looking forward to working with the Scottish Government to ensure delivery of these plans is designed with small and new start businesses, as well as the self-employed, front and centre.”
Poverty Alliance and Wellbeing Economy Alliance have written to the First Minister to urge her to task the recently appointed Advisory Group on Economic Recovery with putting social justice at the heart of their work.
Their letter says:
Dear First Minister,
Economic Recovery and Covid-19
Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, we have witnessed in action the values that we all share. We have seen the compassion, kindness and solidarity that will be required to make it through this crisis.
But we have also seen that our economy is failing to live up to these values. Our social security system and labour market have failed to protect too many of us: particularly women, disabled people and people from black and minority ethnic communities.
It is clear that as we move through and beyond the current phase of the crisis, we must commit to redesigning our economy and systems to better reflect our shared values of compassion and justice. Instead of returning to the economy we had going into the Covid-19 crisis, we must build back better by creating a wellbeing economy that puts our collective wellbeing first.
We therefore welcome that the Scottish Government’s Covid-19: framework for decision making recognises the need to look at the “social and economic reforms necessary to achieve the best future for Scotland” and commits not to repeat the mistakes of austerity.
This commitment is most welcome but must be made real.
In the months ahead we urge you to maintain your ambitious climate agenda to ensure the post-Covid-19 economy is a sustainable one, and to ensure it is socially just we urge you to prioritise:
Building a labour market that works for everyone: Too many people, particularly women and younger people, are trapped in poverty by low-paid and insecure work. Fair Work has been central to the Scottish Government’s approach to labour market policy, but more must be done to make it a reality for workers in Scotland.
Designing a more just taxation system: While this crisis is impacting every person across the country, the disproportionate impact on people on low incomes has highlighted the very real consequences of our deeply unequal society. It cannot be right that the wealthiest 1% of households in Scotland own more wealth than the poorest 50% at a time when almost 1 in 4 children are living in poverty. We must inject justice and fairness into our taxation system.
Securing adequate incomes for all: We have seen positive steps taken by the Scottish Government as it has started to deliver social security assistance. However, Covid-19 has highlighted that this support must not only be dignified, but should help deliver an adequate income too. The Scottish Government must use its powers creatively and to their fullest extent to ensure that our social security system can keep any one of us afloat during difficult times.
Even at this moment of crisis we must begin the task of investing in a better future, to ‘build back better’, with every policy decision we make helping us move towards a just society that’s in step with our values.
We must not return to the pre-Covid 19 economy that locked so many people into poverty.
The Advisory Group on Economic Recovery must not, therefore, simply seek to replicate the unsustainable and unjust economy that went before.
Instead, it must focus on the steps we can take to create an environmentally sustainable economy that ensures a just distribution of income and wealth.
We urge you to task the recently appointed Advisory Group on Economic Recovery with putting social justice at the heart of their work. In doing so the Advisory Group should liaise with the Poverty and Inequality Commission and the Just Transition Commission and collaborate with existing Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) partners to show leadership in creating a wellbeing economy.
This time calls on us to reflect on the kind of country we want to live in. We believe in a Scotland in which wealth is justly distributed, our life chances are not determined by how much we earn, where our labour market guarantees Fair Work for every worker, and where everyone has enough money to get by.
We hope you share this vision and will take the decisions in the weeks and months ahead to make it a reality.
We would welcome an early discussion with you regarding the role of the Advisory Group, as well as the broader concerns of our members regarding the long-term social and economic reforms we require.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Kelly, The Poverty Alliance Dr Katherine Trebeck, Wellbeing Economy Alliance
