Memorandum submitted by Dundee Anti Poverty
Forum
BACKDROP
There is no doubt that the impact on the lives
of people who experience poverty and social exclusion is total,
and while we believe that more must be done to assist individuals
and families wherever they live, we also believe that the Executive's
emphasis on regeneration spending being invested on a geographical
basis, is correct and necessary if we are to improve the lives
of a great many people who live in needy communities blighted
by poverty and deprivation.
However, there is no doubt that some communities
in Scotland suffer far greater than others and therefore the impact
on these communities is compounded. This disproportionate effect
exacerbates the well-being of these communities. Child poverty,
low levels of educational attainment, exclusions from school,
youth unemployment with little scoop to carry on to further and
higher education, drugs and alcohol misuse and addiction, debt,
poor health including poor mental health, overcrowding, domestic
abuse, living in communities ravaged by crime and vandalism, pensioner
poverty, the list that reflects the worse 15% of the Scottish
Index of Multiple deprivation can go on and on.
The targeting of Community Regeneration money
we believe is making a difference in the delivery of vital services,
particularly in supporting voluntary sector services, and has
brought about significant environmental and physical improvements,
and importantly, supported people who experience poverty, people
who are active in their communities, to be involved in the planning
and decision making processes around the issues that affect their
communities.
In Dundee we have 75 CRF representatives, elected
by their communities with autonomy to make decisions on their
behalf, an excellent model that can be considered good practice
that other CRF structures across Scotland should be encouraged
to replicate.
If we briefly look at other initiatives. Working
For Families funding, making a significant impact in supporting
parents with children plan for, and to re-enter the jobs market,
Financial Inclusion funding is supporting a range of initiatives
across the city including financial education, Discovery Credit
Union, welfare rights services to our minority ethnic community
in the city, and to other vulnerable groups. The city's employability
framework, designed to assist particularly the long-term unemployed,
lone parents and disabled people who would like to return to work
with support to do so. Dundee has an excellent fuel poverty strategy
involving the Council, the health sector, voluntary sector involvement,
driving forward an extremely worthwhile series of initiatives
only to be undermined by the inflation busting increases in fuel
prices, but initiatives that are still making a difference.
So, in Dundee and across Scotland there is a
lot going on, a range of initiatives designed to move people out
of poverty. However, while it is important to focus attention
on the achievements and give credit for the good work being done
in what can be difficult circumstances, the problems are deep
rooted and interconnected in a way that requires to be tackled
by a joined up and collaborative approach. There requires to be
a common purpose, a commitment to an overarching strategy that
goes further than the individual, the single issue, families and
communities engulfed by a web of deprivation.
We would now like to go on to focus on some
particular issues, issues that are at times viewed as individual
problems in their own right, things that some would say stretch
across the divide between the better off and the poor, but ones
which we can say with confidence are more prevalent within poorer
families, issues that are impacted by being poor and by the lack
of choice that some people face.
1. DOMESTIC ABUSE
Any woman, anywhere, can be subjected to domestic
abuse from her partner, we are not claiming otherwise, although
anecdotal evidence suggests that a high level of abuse is against
women who experience poverty and disadvantage. In 2003-04 Scottish
Women's Aid Annual Report indicated that they received 83,226
requests for support or information from women in that year, an
increase over the previous year of 10,197. Domestic abuse cases
recorded by the police in Scotland for the same period was 38,117,
(Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin CrJ/2005/9) less than
half of the enquiries to Women's Aid. In Dundee, in 2005/06 Women's
Aid received 340 enquiries for support/information. Of that total
76 women and 91 children were turned away due to lack of space.
Do we need to review services for women who
are subjected to domestic abuse, is there evidence in some areas
that procurator fiscal offices fail to take forward domestic abuse
cases to court, are we doing enough to make women feel confident
about involving the police at an early stage?
2. SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS
Since November 2003 when the Education Minister
Peter Peacock removed Scottish Executive targets aimed at reducing
numbers of school exclusions, expulsion rates have risen dramatically.
Scottish school days lost during 2004-05 where no other education
provision was in place was 128,619 (temporary exclusions) Comparisons
with overall school population show that children who are entitled
to free school meals, pupils with additional support needs and
pupils looked after by Local Authorities all had higher exclusion
rates than other pupils. Where a pupil has all three factors,
the exclusion rate was over 4 times that of the overall school
population. In the same period, Dundee schools recorded the highest
level of temporary school exclusions in Scotland, Glasgow being
next highest.
While we fully believe that a supportive learning
environment needs to be in place to ensure that class disruption
is contained at a minimum. Are we failing other more vulnerable
pupils by those high levels of expulsion? Will the gaps in their
education disenfranchise them in later life as they leave school
with low educational attainment? Are the NEET's of tomorrow being
created by the system that exists today?
3. SUICIDE/SELF
HARM
Suicide rates in Scotland for men and women
aged 15+ over the period 1998-2004 are 50% higher than the UK
average. The highest rates across Local Authority areas fluctuate
between mainly rural and urban areas. However Glasgow, Highland,
Moray, Eilean Star, Dundee, West Dumbarton and North Ayrshire,
are all in the top ten in the UK. According to Choose Life, the
Scottish Executive initiative to reduce suicide levels by 20%
by 2013, the overwhelming majority of suicide cases are related
to factors arising from or exacerbated by deprivation. And amongst
the homeless, the majority of whom are male, 48% have contemplated
suicide and 25% have attempted to take their own life (Big Issue).
Dr Ian Banks, Men's Health Forum stated "it is almost exclusively
amongst the lowest income families that suicide is taking place".
The official figures for suicide may be the "tip of the iceberg"
as many attempts of suicide and self-harm go unreported.
Do we need to improve services for vulnerable
adults with earlier and ongoing intervention? Should suicide and
self-harm be considered as an equalities issue due to the vulnerability
of poorer people?
4. LACK OF
CHOICE
The psychological impact of being poor, the
daily pressure and stress just keeping your head above water has
been well documented in the past. What we are focusing here is
on the lack of choice that exists for poor people. Where you can
shop, the groceries you can afford to buy, choices relating to
diet for the family when you need to fill empty tummies. In June
of this year, Anne-Marie-Smith, a lone parent gave evidence to
the Communities Department, informing them of her life and struggle
to bring up her family. The most profound thing she said was that
"I'm teaching my children to be poor". The frank evidence
from Anne-Marie was one of a lack of choices, of disrespect from
other people and especially front line staff of various agencies.
The isolation from no social life, To Anne-Marie choice was a
foreign concept.
Are we as society teaching children to be poor?
Are they learning at an early age the scams needed to keep you
head above water, how to use the social security system, how to
rob Peter to pay Paul, to accept that in this modern society that
because they are not as well off they should expect less and have
little ambition, not to expect being treated with respect, to
be second class citizens?
5. THE COST
OF BEING
POOR
The cost of being poor is both real and proportionate.
Poor people have to access credit that cost more in repayments;
fuel charges by pre-payment meter is more expensive; when you
have little or no disposable income, the cost of food, clothes
travel, water charges all impact disproportionately against you.
Although benefit levels are not a devolved matter, there are things
that can be done to help poor families budget more effectively
on low incomes. A more generous school clothing grant, paid directly
to the mother, universal free school meals, access to cheaper
travel, the abolition of unfair charges against the companies
that force pre-payment meters on poor families, access to financial
institutions such as credit unions.
CONCLUSION
We are sure that you will receive many responses
from across the poverty lobby in Scotland, some generalist and
some from particular constituencies of interest such as child
poverty groups, groups championing the interests of the disabled
and their carers, and groups supporting older people and we are
sure that they will present cogent and powerful arguments to the
executive. We felt that this consultation was an opportunity to
present something slightly different that may encourage you to
consider some of the more wide-ranging impacts of poverty and
social exclusion.
Jim Milne
Dundee Anti Poverty Forum
October 2006
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