Memorandum submitted by the Baptist Union
of Scotland Public Issues Advisory Group
1. SUMMARY
We welcome the opportunity to share our concerns
about poverty in Scotland and state that issues of injustice and
poverty are always a concern for the Christian Church.
We support in general the longer submission
from the Scottish Parliamentary Office (SCPO) Social Inclusion
Network, noting this body's longstanding involvement in addressing
the issue of poverty in Scotland; we also note a number of particular
issues where we have concerns which we wish the inquiry to consider.
2. The beliefs of the Baptist Union of Scotland
are based on the teachings of the Bible, which repeatedly calls
for justice for the poor and oppressed. We acknowledge that this
is part of the modern church's remit. We therefore welcome the
opportunity to make a submission to the inquiry on poverty in
Scotland.
3. The Baptist Union of Scotland is part
of the SCPO Social Inclusion Network and we commend the issues
raised in that submission. We especially note some of the relevant
work that has been done in poverty hearings and audits and the
recently published "Get Heard" document.
4. We accept the general definitions of
poverty offered in the SCPO paper and also state that the restriction
of choice or access to basic necessities of life is often regarded
as part of the definition of poverty.
5. A number of particular issues have been
drawn to our attention.
6. We are concerned about some Housing issues.
We support the Scottish Churches Housing Action view on targets
to meet the Scottish Executive aim for affordable housing for
all by 2012 and refer you to their documents for more details
on this.
We have concerns about the lengthy delays we
are aware of in processing Housing Benefit applications in Glasgow;
these delays can be a number of weeks and make it difficult for
poor people to obtain or sustain tenancies, particularly in the
private sector. We ask that the inquiry request that the relevant
authorities set or review their performance targets. Relatedly
we question the common practice of private sector landlords requiring
both a deposit and a month's rent in advance thus excluding poor
people from private tenancies and thus restricting choice; we
ask the inquiry to examine whether the Housing Benefit system
could be amended to deal with this issues by guaranteeing promptly
to private sector landlords that a fair rent will be paid; there
is no additional cost in this as a level of rent will be paid
eventually. In fact this would offer the landlord more security
of payment than is sometimes the case in the private sector.
Further support for a national network of rent
deposit and guarantee schemes is also recommended. This would
facilitate stable housing which, in turn, increases the chances
of completing training or obtaining employment, both routes out
of poverty.
7. We are concerned about access to employment
for ethnic minority members of our society. Much anecdotal evidence
suggests a level of discrimination exists within both the employment
services and among some employers. We realise thus is a difficult
issue to address but we ask that the inquiry seek to examine the
performance of the employment services in supporting applicants
from ethnic minorities.
8. We are concerned about poverty amongst
asylum seekers. We note firstly that the level of support offered
to adult asylum seekers is 70% of Income Support levels thus immediately
placing them in poverty. This is of particular concerns where
there are children in asylum seeker household.
Secondly there continues to be a level of destitution
in the asylum seeker community. You may be made aware by the Scottish
Refugee Council or by the Refugee Survival Trust of the thorough
research carried out in February 2006 which identified over 100
destitute asylum seekers seeking assistance from agencies that
month. It is surely the case that there were others who were not
counted in this survey as they did not seek help. We are aware
that some of these asylum seekers are people who have had their
case for asylum refused but have not left the country, stating
that they fear for their lives of they return to their countries
of origin. Similarly, in a meeting held in October 2006 with the
Immigration and Nationality Directorate for Scotland church leaders
were informed that in the last few month 50 families or individuals
due for deportation had vanished from their accommodation (thus
no longer receiving financial support from the Home Office). Clearly
these families are living in poverty.
Whilst we appreciate that changing the asylum
system might be outwith the remit of the Scottish Affairs Committee
we feel it important that the Committee take note of this significant
strand of poverty in Scotland which is related to Government policy
on asylum.
9. We are concerned about delays in processing
Child Benefit applications after the birth of a new baby. We are
aware that this may take up to six weeks. As this is a benefit
which is used to guarantee others, such as increased Income Support,
this delay places families in temporary poverty at a very crucial
time in the life of a new baby. We ask that the system of processing
Child Benefit be examined with a view to it being speeded up.
We suggest there is little cost in this as the same process needs
to be done but more promptly.
10. We commend the range of measures that
have been introduced to tackle poverty, including the recent increase
in the Minimum Wage and the Scottish Executive's targets in "Closing
the Opportunity Gap".
Eileen Baxendale
Chairperson
October 2006
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