Memorandum submitted by NCH Scotland
NCH Scotland is one of the leading children's
charities in Scotland. We welcome the opportunity to give evidence
to the UK Parliament Scottish Affairs Committee's Poverty in Scotland
inquiry. Our evidence focuses on a number of general issues around
poverty in Scotland, as well as addressing some of the specific
questions set by the Scottish Affairs Committee for its inquiry.
NCH Scotland's evidence draws upon our extensive experience of
working with some of the most vulnerable and difficult to reach
children, families and young people in Scotland, so that they
have the opportunity to reach their full potential, and to make
the most of their lives. Further details about NCH Scotland projects
are also being sent to members of the Scottish Affairs Committee,
and we would be happy to provide more information upon request.
WHAT IS
POVERTY? THE
EXTENT OF
POVERTY
One of the defining characteristics of poverty
is material deprivation, evident where people live on low incomes
and struggle to pay for basic necessities in life such as food,
clothing, accommodation and heating. In this respect, although
the number of children living in low income households in Scotland
has fallen by 100,000, many children, families and young people
continue to live in poverty. Indeed, it is estimated that there
are currently still an estimated 240,000 children living in poverty
in Scotland. Furthermore, many of those living in poverty are
amongst the most vulnerable members of our society, such as young
disabled people. It should be noted, for example, that more than
80% of parents with a disabled child are unemployed, and that
disabled children are twice as likely to live in poverty as non-disabled
children.
Another major aspect of poverty is where people
living on low incomes experience a poverty of opportunity in areas
such as education, employment and training, which often deprives
them of the means to break the cycle of poverty. Significantly,
FactFile Scotland 2006-07, NCH Scotland's annual "report
card" on Scotland's children and young people, showed that
a gap continues to exist between young Scots from different backgrounds.
There is, we believe, a Scotland of opportunity based on educational
attainment which is providing a bright future for many of our
young people. Yet, there is also another Scotland where social
difficulties have created a poverty of opportunity that is robbing
individuals and communities of any sense of optimism. Children
brought up in areas of social deprivation or in care have, for
example, the lowest levels of educational attainment, and the
effects of social disadvantage blights their later lives. NCH
Scotland's services respond to many of the issues highlighted
in the FactFile statistics. We work with excluded young people
who face the greatest difficulties in finding work, and in overcoming
poverty. These include projects in Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow
which have run successful work experience schemes that have led
to employment or training opportunities in the construction industry
for young offenders.
IMPACT OF
GOVERNMENT POLICY
ON POVERTY
FactFile Scotland 2006-07 clearly shows that
Scotland faces a formidable challenge in meeting the needs of,
and in breaking the cycle of poverty for, the most vulnerable
children, families and young people in our society. NCH Scotland
is, however, encouraged by the commitment being shown by the Scottish
Executive in driving forward improvements in services which are
having a positive impact. We believe that further action is also
needed by the Scottish Executive, and by other agencies in a number
of key areas to ensure further progress is made in eradicating
poverty in Scotland. In addition, NCH Scotland considers it important
to recognise that the UK Government has a vital role to play in
this process, particularly in relation to Reserved matters such
as welfare reform and tackling disability discrimination. The
areas where NCH Scotland considers more action is essential includes
ensuring that welfare reform increases support for those most
in need. Other key areas include the need to increase help for
vulnerable groups including young people not in education, employment
or training ("NEET"), young disabled people and young
people leaving care. NCH Scotland also believes that action is
urgently required in addressing issues around the Supporting
People programme and other funding streams, as well as around
Scottish Executive funding for the voluntary sector.
Welfare reform
NCH Scotland believes that the UK Government
can make a major contribution to eradicating poverty through welfare
reform. We believe that welfare reform must secure real and significant
improvement in the lives of those on low incomes, and increase
child care support for families and single parents on low incomes.
NCH Scotland has, however, concerns over key aspects of the Welfare
Reform Bill, and supports the Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform's
view that MPs should reject any changes which will reduce or remove
benefit levels. NCH Scotland also supports the Campaign's demands
for higher rates of benefit to be introduced, and for more support
to be made available for people who want to move into work.
One key area which NCH Scotland believes must
also be addressed by the UK Government, as part of its welfare
reform programme, is the benefit trap which young people often
fall into as a result of the level of rent set by Housing Benefit.
This can be set very high for budgetary reasons. Young people,
however, who are able, despite being homeless and in a 16+ unit,
struggle to meet the level required from their meagre salary levels.
In addition, the minimum wage for 16 to 17 year olds is set lower
than the minimum wage for 20 or 30 year old, and the recent age
discrimination legislation has exempted the minimum wage rules
from any action/come back. Many young people, therefore, have
no incentive to work. This can be seen as a labelling of all homeless
young people as being the same, and fails to recognise the vast
differences in reasons for homelessness. NCH Scotland believes
it is vital that the UK Government addresses this issue if it
is to help give homeless young people the means to break the poverty
cycle.
NEET Young People
NCH Scotland believes that maximising the opportunities
for NEET young people in education, employment and training can
make a significant contribution to tackling poverty. We, therefore,
welcome the launch of More Choices, More Chances, the Scottish
Executive's strategy to reduce the number of NEET young people
in Scotland. NCH Scotland believes that the strategy can make
a positive contribution to reducing the high level of NEET young
people. To do so, however, it is vital that the needs of the most
vulnerable and difficult to reach young people in our society
are placed at the very heart of this strategy. NCH Scotland also
takes the view that sufficient funding must be made available
to ensure the strategy has long term sustainability. We consider
this vital if More Choices, More Chances is to significantly
increase the number of opportunities available to NEET young people
in education, employment and training, and to help eradicate poverty
in our society.
NCH Scotland has considerable experience and
expertise in working with NEET young people through projects such
as the Prevocational Construction Training (PICT) project. We
believe PICT and other NCH Scotland projects could be useful reference
points for the committee in considering positive ways in which
the poverty cycle can be broken for NEET young people. By way
of further background, PICT was developed in partnership with
Fair Pley Ltd, and was part funded through Communities Scotland's
Wider Role Programme. The project has provided successful outcomes
for disengaged young people in the Inverclyde area by supporting
them in their efforts to secure employment and training opportunities
in the construction industry. It scored 77% on the independent
evaluation assessment conducted by the Kelly Partnership. A copy
of the evaluation report is attached for information purposes,
along with some background information about the Glasgow Youthbuild,
a similar project which seeks to secure sustainable employment
in the construction industry for 32 young people from the most
disadvantaged communities in Glasgow's east end.
To give committee members an opportunity to
find out more about the PICT project, and other NCH Scotland projects
focusing on supporting NEET young people, NCH Scotland would like
to invite members of the Scottish Affairs Committee to attend
a seminar focusing on the needs of NEET young people. This seminar
which NCH Scotland and other agencies are hosting at James Watt
College, Greenock will take place at 12 noon on 17 November 2006.
The seminar will consider how NCH Scotland and our partners have,
by adopting a particular approach, been able to maximise employment
and training opportunities for NEET young people. A key theme
of the seminar will be how the PICT model could be adapted by
other agencies to increase opportunities for NEET young people,
and to help lift them out of poverty.
Young Disabled People
Many young disabled people face material poverty
and poverty of opportunity in their daily lives. NCH Scotland
believes that, to help young disabled people break the cycle of
poverty, more should be done to support them through the transition
from childhood to adulthood. This is a difficult transition for
all children, and it presents particular problems and challenges
for disabled children and young people. NCH Scotland is aware,
for example, that, while a great deal of service provision focuses
on the needs of children aged five to 18, the support in many
areas for young disabled people during the transition from childhood
to adulthood is minimal. Indeed, apart from the provision of some
short term respite care at 18, it is fair to say that young disabled
people receive little, if any, support between the ages of 18
and 25. This significantly reduces the number of life opportunities
available for young disabled people, perpetuates many of the barriers
which blight their adult lifes later, including poverty.
By way of illustration, NCH Scotland has highlighted
to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee for its
major inquiry into disability the experience of young disabled
people who are encouraged to go straight from school, where they
have considerable support and a social network, to colleges where
they often have little support and feel isolated. NCH Scotland
considers that this transition needs to be better managed by key
agencies, if we are to ensure that the experience of all young
disabled people at college is to be both positive and rewarding.
In this respect, we believe that resources must be made available
to give young disabled people the necessary support to assist
them make the transition from the relatively well supported environment
of school to college. Increasing resources to, for example, recruit
more experienced social workers, and to improve training for both
staff and social workers, particularly in relation to communication
skills and the use of related technology, could make a significant
contribution to help improve young disabled people's access to
education, and to give them the skills and qualifications to improve
their chances of not being condemned to a life of material poverty
and poverty of opportunity.
Against this background, NCH Scotland considers
it vital that the Scottish Executive, local authorities, the voluntary
sector and other key agencies should do more to support young
disabled people through their transition from childhood to adulthood.
Providing support at this stage in the lives of young disabled
people will assist the latter to cope with this transition. Furthermore,
it will increase the level of opportunities available to young
disabled people in areas such as education, employment and training,
and in their social lives. Reducing barriers in these areas will,
in turn, help to promote the integration of young disabled people
into society.
Increased support for looked after young people
NCH Scotland works with some of the most vulnerable
and difficult to reach young people in Scotland, including young
people who are looked after or have previously been in care, through
projects such as CAPS Foster Care. We are also progressing the
Reading Rich initiative with our partners, the Scottish
Book Trust, a project funded by the Scottish Executive which seeks
to encourage looked after young people to develop an interest
in reading and in literature. Against this background, NCH Scotland
welcomes the priority being given by the Scottish Executive to
improving outcomes, and increasing life chances, for looked after
children. To do so, however, will require the Scottish Executive
to provide increased support for early intervention work, and
to open up greater opportunities for children and young people
to have a say in the design and delivery of services.
Supporting People and other funding streams
NCH Scotland welcomes the funding which the
Scottish Executive has made available to help tackle poverty,
and to promote social inclusion, through funding streams such
as Supporting People. We have, however, some concerns about
the long term sustainability of Supporting People and other
funding streams. Significantly, people accessing support through
Supporting People are amongst the most vulnerable in our
society, and in many cases there are no "quick fixes"
to help those most in need. Many require intensive, long term
support to address their often complex needs and problems. It
is, therefore, vital that service providers have some certainty
over future funding streams to ensure the long term sustainability
of their services. Without such certainty, service users will
inevitably suffer as funding constraints lead to services being
cut or frozen. The cuts in Supporting People budgets over
the last 2—3 years have, however, raised a number of question
marks over the future of services, particularly as 2008 will mark
the end of the current Scottish Executive funding source for Supporting
People.
Against this background, the continuing uncertainty
over the Supporting People funding stream has made it difficult
for service providers to undertake long term planning. In effect,
contracts can only be signed on a short term basis, which has
given rise to some staff recruitment and retention issues. NCH
Scotland is currently lobbying the Scottish Executive with our
other colleagues from Community Care Providers (CCPS) to end the
uncertainty over the funding stream for Supporting People,
and to confirm what future funding will be made available. We
are also looking to the Scottish Executive to confirm that it
will not implement further cuts in the Supporting People funding
stream.
Voluntary sector funding: Supporting Families
and Parents
The voluntary sector makes a major contribution
to support vulnerable children, families and young people by delivering
a wide range of services across Scotland to help those most in
need to break the cycle of poverty. NCH Scotland provides a wide
range of family support services. Our family support work seeks
to strengthen family relationships and to give children the best
start in life. It addresses many issues including family breakdown,
anti-social behaviour, alcohol and drugs problems, depression,
domestic violence, offending and child protection. NCH Scotland
projects include the Dundee Families Project which has pioneered
a new approach to working with anti-social families. The Dundee
model is now being replicated across the UK. Other examples of
the children and families we help are:
— Family Centres—Supporting families
living in some of the most deprived areas in Scotland.
— Respite Care—Providing vital
support to disabled children and their families.
— Young Carers—Giving a childhood
back to children who look after sick or disabled parents.
— Homelessness—Helping young
people who have no homes of their own.
NCH Scotland believes, however, that the persistent
and continuing uncertainty caused by short-term funding has created
a situation where many of the family support services provided
by the voluntary sector are overstretched, and face increasing
problems in providing the support which is urgently needed.
The work of many of these services is hampered
by short term funding which leaves them continuously facing closure
or cutbacks. This short term approach significantly restricts
the type and level of services they can offer, and the number
of children and families they can support. This has resulted in
some projects being forced to cut back or freeze services because
of a lack of funding. By way of illustration, most of NCH Scotland's
family support services have standstill budgets which effectively
acts as a reduction in provision.
The constraints on services imposed by short
term funding streams, exacerbated by the recruitment problems
in local authority social work departments, are increasing the
pressure on family support services provided by the voluntary
sector in responding to needs that are not being met elsewhere.
They are having to provide more intensive support over longer
periods, but short term funding means voluntary sector providers
are using up their own reserves to subsidise these services. The
net effect is that family support services have become stretched,
and the support which organisations are able to provide increasingly
limited. We believe that, in order to strengthen the voluntary
sector's capacity to tackle poverty more effectively, it is essential
that Government introduces more secure, long term funding for
family support services. In this respect, it is vital that the
Scottish Executive introduces secure, long term funding for family
support services in order to strengthen family relationships,
and to provide vulnerable children with the best start in life.
Further information on the above can be obtained
from Robert McGeachy, Head of Policy, or Andrew Girvan, Director
of Children's Services at NCH Scotland.
NCH Scotland
October 2006
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