2 Poverty in Scotland
4. Our inquiry into Poverty in Scotland began at
the end of 2006, with a visit to the Highland Region and a formal
evidence session in Inverness. The inquiry set out to examine
issues such as:
- What is poverty?
- The extent of poverty
- Contributing factors
- Impact of Government policy on poverty
It covered poverty in both urban and rural areas
of Scotland and also included the availability of affordable money
and the activities of loan sharks, as well as major Government
programmes, such as Welfare to Work.
5. We went on to take formal evidence at a further
nine public sessions. Throughout the inquiry, we were concerned
to undertake visits to see at first hand the impact of poverty
and its effects on the lives of Scots. In 2007, we visited Dundee,
Glasgow and Edinburgh to take evidence from individuals and organisations
involved in the fight against poverty as well as becoming the
first Westminster Select Committee to take evidence from a Minister
of the Scottish Executive after the change of administration in
May.[6] Our final evidence
session was with Ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions
and HM Treasury and took place on 27 November.[7]
6. Our inquiry into poverty was extremely wide-ranging
and so we decided to publish our Report in two volumes. At the
end of 2007, we published a Report focusing on issues surrounding
the definition and measurement of poverty; the effectiveness of
Government policy in rural and urban communities and the problems
of fuel poverty and debt. The Committee also received considerable
evidence on the subject of child poverty. The reduction of child
poverty is the aim of high-profile Government targets, whose success
or failure will affect not only those currently living in poverty,
but generations to come. We therefore decided to produce a separate
Report on this important subject, which we expect to publish early
in the new year.
7. Our first Report on poverty was published on 17
December 2007.[8] We chose
to launch the Report at the Pearce Institute, Govan, Glasgow,
a community centre we had visited in the course of the inquiry.
We invited all those who had given evidence to the inquiry to
discuss our findings as well as the media. The event was very
successful and the Report was well received. We hope that our
Report will help to ensure that the issue of poverty remains high
on the political agenda.
8. Our Report concluded that, despite recent reductions
in poverty, there was still more to be done. We welcomed the introduction
of the minimum wage and Tax Credits, but recommended that the
Government should do more to 'poverty-proof' its policies across
the board and to work co-operatively with the Scottish Executive
and Scottish local government. Rural poverty, fuel poverty and
debt were particular focal points for this inquiry. Each of these
areas raised distinct issues. Our Report concluded that, despite
good intentions, there is a lack of integration and too much administrative
complexity which is hampering the fight against poverty. We look
forward to receiving the Government's response to our Report in
due course.
6 Scottish Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session
2007-08, Poverty in Scotland, HC 128-II, Qq 814-865. Back
7
Ibid., Qq 866-920. Back
8
Scottish Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2007-08,
Poverty in Scotland, HC 128-I. Back
|
