8 REPORTING ON PROGRESS TOWARDS TACKLING POVERTY AMONGST DISABLED PEOPLE
Introduction
8.1. Poverty was selected as a focus area, as poverty is linked to inequality and has a major impact on life chances. It was therefore felt important to consider the extent to which disabled people in Scotland faced poverty and consider progress made in overcoming it. It is a complex area given the different components that go into making up poverty and therefore this section has sought to bring together data and evidence on poverty in addition to analysing the extent to which progress has been made by public authorities in overcoming it. This latter aspect has proved to be complex and difficult to report on. Whilst many local authorities have referred to poverty in their disability equality schemes and annual reports, as did the Scottish Executive's Closing the Opportunity Gap strategy, there were few references in other documentation as to action on poverty specifically in relation to disabled people. Many of the initiatives were in relation to reserved areas such as welfare benefits and employment, which fall within the remit of the Department for Work and Pensions, and in which Scottish public authorities have limited roles.
8.2. The position regarding disabled people and poverty is a complex one in that whilst there is information on disabled people's employment position (see also the education and lifelong learning report) and in regards to take up of welfare benefits, there is less direct information available regarding disabled people and poverty in Scotland. However the bringing together of various studies enables an overall picture to be obtained on the position of disabled people in relation to poverty, which would suggest that disabled people are much more likely to live in poverty than non-disabled people. The evidence for this is set out below.
8.3. Poverty has been reported under the Ministerial Portfolio for Health and Wellbeing as this portfolio has lead responsibility for it within the Scottish Government. However a number of other portfolios contain activity which is likely to have an impact on poverty, such as the Education and Life Long Learning, and Finance and Sustainable Growth portfolios, given their roles in skills and enterprise development respectively.
Background: wider policy context and evidence
Wider policy context
Introduction
8.4. In considering policy developments in relation to poverty and disabled people, it is important to look at wider initiatives on poverty, social inclusion and employment, as few documents specifically refer to disability and poverty. Some of these arise from reserved policy initiatives with regard to welfare benefits and employment and they are only mentioned where they have significant bearings on actions taken by Scottish public authorities. There have been a number of strategies in relation to combating poverty published in Scotland since 1999. People living in households with incomes more than 60% below median household income are usually defined as living in poverty.
8.5. In 1998, the Westminster Government launched the New Futures Fund to promote the employability of people with multiple barriers to employment, including those on Incapacity Benefit. The Fund was managed by Scottish Enterprise over a three year period.
8.6. In 2000, the Scottish Executive published a Social Justice Strategy (Scottish Executive, 2000c). This strategy was based on the development of greater social inclusion and justice and included steps to reduce poverty. It set out a number of targets and milestones in relation to children, young people, families and working age people, older people and communities. The milestones included measures to tackle the problems of people from disadvantaged groups such as lone parents, people from minority ethnic groups and disabled people. Few of the milestones mentioned disabled people explicitly (although one referred to people with learning disabilities), although many implicitly related to the position of disabled people. The Social Justice Strategy was subject to annual reports and the (final) report in 2004 showed improvement in the employment position of disabled people (Scottish Executive, 2003e).
8.7. In 2001, the Scottish Executive published 'A Smart, Successful Scotland' aimed at developing economic growth and skills. The strategy aimed also to tackle poverty through attention to economic growth and skills development (Scottish Executive, 2001d). This strategy was refreshed in 2004 (Scottish Executive, 2004k). The revised strategy set out aims of closing opportunity gaps and promoting equality of opportunity, as well as providing support to young people facing multiple disadvantages.
8.8. The then Scottish Executive set out in 2002 its approach toward regeneration and tackling poverty in urban and rural areas, entitled Better Communities in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2002a). This included support for community planning and for improving better skills for disadvantaged people (including disabled people) such as in literacy and numeracy.
8.9. Glasgow City Council has one of the lowest proportions of working age people in employment in Scotland and high levels of Incapacity Benefit Claimants. In recognition of these problems, the City Council set up a partnership group to identify groups at risk. It published a consultation document Equal Access to Employment setting a future strategy, based on a partnership model and looking at mainstreamed employment solutions. Disabled adults featured within the strategy (see also Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio Report). Since its launch some 19 different partnerships projects have been established.
8.10. In 2004, the Scottish Executive moved from its Social Justice Strategy to a new approach called Closing the Opportunity Gap, which was aimed at reducing poverty and inequality. The strategy contained six key objectives which included the following:
- To increase the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups - in order to lift them permanently out of poverty
- To improve the confidence and skills of the most disadvantaged children and young people - in order to provide them with the greatest chance of avoiding poverty when they leave school;
- To reduce the vulnerability of low income families to financial exclusion and multiple debts - in order to prevent them becoming over-indebted and/or to lift them out of poverty;
- To regenerate the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods - in order that people living there can take advantage of job opportunities and improve their quality of life;
- To increase the rate of improvement of the health status of people living in the most deprived communities - in order to improve their quality of life, including their employability prospects; and
- To improve access to high quality services for the most disadvantaged groups and individuals in rural communities - in order to improve their quality of life and enhance their access to opportunity.
The strategy was also underpinned by a series of key targets including reducing the number of people on disability benefits (Scottish Executive, 2004l, m).
8.11. As part of meeting the Closing the Opportunity Gap targets, the Scottish Executive announced in 2006 an Employability Framework called Workforce Plus (Scottish Executive 2006o). The programme involved targeting employability issues within seven local authority areas with above average levels of worklessness. These were Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshire, Dundee, North and South Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, all areas where there are high numbers of disabled people and above average numbers of people in poverty.
8.12. Key groups of people identified under the framework for support and attention included 16-19 year olds not in education, employment and training and people who are low paid or low skilled. Action under the framework would be taken forward via the development of a National Workforce Plus partnership and local partnerships. Included within the framework were requests to local authorities to detail progress on the employment of people with a learning disability, as part of the Learning Disability Partnerships in Practice agreements for 2004-07 and work to take this forward become part of the national and local partnerships arrangements under the framework. The framework also set out to develop and publish commissioning guidance to assist local authorities, health boards and the voluntary sector in developing services around mental health and employability in Scotland.
8.13. In 2006, the Scottish Executive also published alongside the Workforce Plus, a specific strategy on improving the position of 16 -19 year olds not in education, employment or training, now referred to as young people in need of more choices and more chances, with disabled young people making up a seventh of the total population (Scottish Executive, 2006p). The strategy More Choices More Chances noted that for some young people, being in a NEET situation was a transitional phase, but for many it represented disadvantage and a lack of opportunity to participate in society and potential poverty. The key aims of the strategy were to stem the flows into NEET, develop lines of accountability and prioritise educational and training outcomes for the NEET group as a step towards lifelong employability.
8.14. The Closing the Opportunities Gap programme was evaluated for the Scottish Government in 2008 (see paragraph 8.26 below) and the Scottish Government has concluded that whilst strong progress had been made on several of the targets, tackling poverty needed to be linked more closely to the Government's economic strategy. Following the publication of a discussion document on Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation (Scottish Government, 2008d) the Scottish Government will be publishing a new framework later this year. The discussion document proposes that disaggregation of data on poverty by equality groups where possible will be taken forward. Overall it set out three areas for action:
- Prevention of poverty and tackling root causes, such as worklessness and educational disadvantage;
- Helping to lift people out of poverty such as improving employability through employability services and helping people through key transition points in their lives;
- Alleviating the impact of poverty on people's lives such as via tackling fuel poverty
Research and statistical evidence
Levels of poverty
8.15. Poverty is defined by the Scottish and Westminster Governments as households with less than 60% of median household income. A Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP, 2007) study based on the Families Resources Survey shows that individuals in families across the UK in 2006-07 containing one or more disabled people were more likely to live in low income households than those living in families with no disabled person. Thirty percent of UK working age-people in poverty are in families containing one or more disabled adult.
8.16. The survey shows that there had been little change in the proportion of disabled people in poverty since 1998/99. It is difficult to compare poverty figures over time using the FRS as the definition of disability used by the survey changed in 2002/03. In 2002/03 23 percent of UK disabled people were in relative poverty (before housing costs) and there has been little change in this figure since then. The corresponding 2006/07 figure was 24 percent. Unfortunately a breakdown by country within the UK was not available in order to give a Scottish figure. ( DWP briefing material, 2007).
8.17. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation/New Policy Institute studies of poverty in 2007 in Great Britain found that at 30%, the poverty rate among those aged 25 to retirement who were disabled was twice the rate for those who were not disabled. It found that the gap between disabled and non-disabled people in terms of risk of poverty is larger than it was a decade ago ( JRF, 2007a and JRF, 2007b). The study also showed that three-quarters of those who have been receiving out-of-work benefits for two years or more were sick or disabled.
8.18. It also found that half of all those who were workless were disabled people (see figure 1.10).
Figure 1.10 Percentage of people not in work by disability status and whether they are a lone parent or not 2005-2007
Source: New Poverty Institute: Scotland work and disability
8.19. Data from the Labour Force Survey also shows a considerable gap between economic activity rates of disabled and non-disabled adults, with 46% of disabled adults being economically inactive in comparison with 13% of non-disabled adults in 2007. Figure 1.11 shows some overall improvement since 1999 in the percentage of disabled people economically active and in employment, but the gap between the disabled and non-disabled people remained relatively unchanged.
Figure 1.11 EconomicActivity rates by Disability Statusfrom 1999-2007
Source: Scottish Labour Force Survey (April-June Quarters)
Note 1. Rates are for females aged 16 to 59 years and males aged 16 to 64 years.
8.20. Research by Riddell et. al. (2005) for the Scottish Executive on the position of disabled people and the labour market in Scotland showed that disabled people were less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people by a factor of 2 to1, with 39% of disabled people in work compared to 80% of non-disabled people (Riddell et al 2005). In addition she found that disability appeared to be a major factor determining the distribution of income and wealth: in Great Britain 28% of the bottom quintile of households included one or more disabled persons, compared with 15% of households with no disabled adults and that for the top quintile of households the proportions were reversed.
8.21. This finding is similar to findings by Capability Scotland from a survey of disabled people in 2005, where 40% of respondents with a disability or medical condition lived on less than £200 a week (Capability Scotland, 2005b). Research by the Disability Rights Commission in 2004 on average gross hourly pay of disabled and non-disabled people found that disabled people were paid about 10% less than non-disabled employees (Disability Rights Commission, 2004).
8.22. The Annual Population Survey in Scotland 2007 (Scottish Government, 2008m) found that the employment rate estimate for the disabled people in Scotland was 47.1 % in 2007, with four out of the 32 local authorities having employment rates for disabled people at under 40%. In relation to poverty, the employment rate estimate for people with a disability living in the 15% most deprived areas was 26.2% in 2007. Interestingly, the areas with the highest employment rates for disabled people were those in accessible and remote rural areas.
Low Income Status
8.23. The New Poverty Institute study (see figure 1.12) shows that, across all family types, disabled people are more likely than non-disabled people to live in low income situations. (New Poverty Institute 2008a)
Figure 1.12 Likelihood of being on low income by disability and family status:
Source: Poverty Site - Low Income and disability- New Policy Institute 2008
8.24. The Scottish Household Survey 2005 showed that disabled people are disproportionately likely to be on low incomes by comparison with non disabled people, with 42% of those people in Scotland with incomes lower than £6,000 per year, and 51% of those with incomes between £6,000 and £10,000 being disabled. Disabled people, it should be remembered, make up around 20% (Census 2001) of the population (Scottish Government, 2007n).
Welfare benefits
8.25. Welfare benefits take up can be one measure of low income, and disabled people in Scotland have higher benefit take up levels by comparison with non- disabled people. In addition there are some benefits only available to disabled people to offset additional costs incurred as a consequence of barriers they face or relating to their impairments. According to data published by the Scottish Executive (Scottish Executive, 2005h) on the position of disabled people in relation to benefit take up in Scotland, a majority of benefit claimants are disabled, with 17 percent of the population aged 16-64 being in receipt of welfare benefits in August 2004 (536,800 people) of whom 11% were either disabled or sick (356,300 people). Of people over the state pension age claiming benefits, 30 percent were disabled or sick (283,200 people out of 945,400 over the state retirement age). According to the Scottish Government, almost 310,000 people (7% of the population) claim Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disability Allowance in Scotland, a further 30,000 claim Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance (Scottish Government, 2008k).
Evaluating progress on employment and poverty
8.26. Progress towards meeting The Closing the Opportunity Gap targets was evaluated in 2008 (Scottish Government 2008o) and findings showed that there was a consistent trend in Scotland in reducing poverty, which had fallen in absolute and relative terms between 1994/95 and 2004/05. The evaluation looked at two key methods of analysing poverty in relation to equalities groups including disabled people. The first was to infer from UK statistics the position with regard to Scotland and the second was to undertake interviews with key equality groups where data was less available.
8.27. The evaluation included looking at additional analysis of the Households Below Average Income Survey with regard to disabled people in Scotland. It also looked at other data and noted the conclusion of a recent study on Poverty in Scotland which had concluded that 'Disability is a significant factor in shaping the risk of poverty for households with at least one disabled adult and at least one disabled child. It is not the presence of disabled children per se that is the significant factor - households with disabled children and a non-disabled adult are no more likely to be at risk of poverty than households without disabled people - but the combination of disability among adults and children which is significant' (McKendrick and Dickie, 2007).
8.28. The interviews with equality groups showed that there were repeated references to disabled people being more likely to live in areas of deprivation and in poverty and that people with learning disabilities remain underrepresented in the workforce with high levels of unemployment. The interviews further showed that 'for disabled people, despite evident and sustained efforts to increase the numbers in employment, progress was reported to remain slow, particularly when it comes to sustaining employment for those who find it' (Scottish Government, 2008o).
8.29. The study concluded that the results of the interviews had shown that for disability groups, specific barriers remained in place, both physically, in terms of access to services, and socially, in terms of attitudinal difficulties faced in the public sphere. Special mention was made of the challenges disabled people faced in the workplace and when accessing public services. However, overall, there was consensus among the representatives that positive steps were being made to address key concerns and that a proactive effort was being made.
8.30. With regard to the key target of increasing the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, in order to lift people permanently out of poverty, the evaluation found a mixed picture. It concluded that the numbers of disabled people (and ethnic minority and women) since 2002 moving from unemployment to employment had been slightly negative. It noted however that there had been significant reductions in the numbers of workless people claiming benefits, and there had been reductions in the numbers of workless people in the target areas of Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshire, Dundee, North and South Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, suggesting an increase in rates of movement of people into employment in these areas.
8.31. The graph below (figure 1.13) from the Evaluation of Closing the Opportunity Gap shows the disparity between the movement of non-disabled and disabled workless adults into employment. It reveals very low levels of movement into employment - around 2-3% - for disabled workless people in Scotland, compared to entry rates of between 13% and 19% for non-disabled workless people. The evaluation concludes that 'there is no evidence of significant progress in recent years in narrowing this disparity'.
Figure 1.13 Moves into employment for workless people who are disabled and not disabled between 2002 and 2006.
Source :LFS two-quarter longitudinal data sets, beginning with Autumn-Winter 2002 and ending with Winter-Spring 2006
Child Poverty
8.32. According to the former Disability Rights Commission ( DRC), poverty is both a cause and a symptom of disability. Research by the DRC indicates that one in three children growing up in poverty has a disabled parent and over half of all families with disabled children live in or at the margins of poverty (Disability Rights Commission, 2007). A study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examining the position of disabled children and housing found that disabled children in Great Britain were more likely to be living in rented accommodation, and more likely than families without disabled children to be living in accommodation which was not warm enough in winter and could not be kept warm due to cost (Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2008).
Table 1.11 Comparison of housing conditions reported by families with and without a disabled child
| Families with child at risk of disability (%) | Families without child at risk of disability (%) |
|---|
No central heating | 9 | 8 |
|---|
Not warm enough in winter | 10 | 5 |
|---|
Cannot keep child's bedroom warm | 8 | 4 |
|---|
Cannot keep warm due to cost | 4 | 2 |
|---|
Overall poor state of repair | 11 | 7 |
|---|
Problems with damp/mould/condensation | 26 | 20 |
|---|
Problems with pests (insects/rats) | 7 | 5 |
|---|
Problems with wiring | 9 | 6 |
|---|
Problems with plumbing | 10 | 7 |
|---|
Problems with rot/decay | 10 | 8 |
|---|
Problems with drafts | 16 | 12 |
|---|
Damp in child's bedroom | 11 | 8 |
|---|
Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2008 - secondary analysis of Family and Children survey by Emerson and Hatton 2005
Fuel poverty
8.33. There are few detailed statistics regarding fuel poverty 24 and disabled people, however, research on fuel poverty for the Scottish Government shows that it disproportionately affects pensioners and single pensioners, and as disabled people are more likely to fall into the above categories there is likely to be a higher level of fuel poverty affecting disabled people than non-disabled people. In addition, the study shows that those living in private rented accommodation are more likely to be in extreme fuel poverty. As disabled people are more likely to live in rented accommodation, as well as in older properties, and are more likely to be to in low income brackets, their chances of experiencing fuel poverty are particularly high. fuel (Scottish Government, 2007b).
8.34. This is reinforced by a survey for Capability Scotland on fuel poverty amongst disabled people, which found that over 40% of the disabled participants in the poll were fuel poor and a further 14% were at risk of becoming fuel poor in that they spent between 5-10% of their incomes on fuel costs. Of those surveyed, nearly a quarter spent at least 20% of their available income on fuel costs (Capability Scotland, 2005a).
Areas where progress is evident from disability equality schemes regarding poverty
8.35. A considerable number of local authorities have identified poverty amongst disabled people as a key issue, with 24 authorities listing actions to reduce poverty amongst disabled people. Several authorities (8) have developed data looking at the position of disabled people and poverty for their localities ( e.g. Dundee City Council, East Ayrshire West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow City Council, Highland) and some have also developed strategies in this regard. This data's provenance varies but is mainly a combination of collated local information from a range of local and national sources alongside information gathered from involvement and consultation processes with disabled people. One local authority (Glasgow City Council) had undertaken an analysis of council taxpayers and benefit take up by equality groups in order to help target future benefit action. Dundee City Council had looked in detail at the numbers of disabled people who were unemployed in the city.
8.36. The most frequent tool and action that local authorities deployed was in relation to encouraging increases in the employment of disabled people. Such actions included promoting employment within their local authorities ( e.g. Dumfries & Galloway, Moray , North and South Ayrshire); working with other partners on joint strategies such as with health boards or with Workforce Plus partners ( e.g. Orkney Islands, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire); and running supported employment schemes and employment development units aimed at young disabled people ( e.g. Angus, Dundee City, Glasgow City, South Lanarkshire.) Stirling and West Dunbartonshire had particular programmes aimed at people with mental health difficulties and learning disabilities.
8.37. Given the wide variety of causes of poverty and the link between poverty and ill-health, three local authorities had set themselves objectives of working with their local health boards on anti-poverty approaches in relation to disabled people which has included collaborating on joint planning and in one authority's case on improving health, skills and employment issues (East Renfrewshire, Midlothian, and Perth and Kinross). A further three authorities were working with community planning partners on this (Orkney, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire).
8.38. In addition, five authorities were undertaking work to boost welfare take-up by disabled people in their localities (Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh City, Dundee City, Glasgow and East Renfrewshire) involving welfare benefit take up campaigns and information activities. A number reported specific amounts which had been taken up as a result of their activities, for example, Edinburgh City Council reported that an additional £7.3m worth of benefits were claimed, and in North Lanarkshire the figure was £2.8m.
8.39. A few authorities had identified the need to provide support to disabled young people to assist them in obtaining employment and relevant training opportunities. These authorities included South Lanarkshire which had a secondary schools programme and East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire, whilst Argyll and Bute Council had held a consultation on child poverty amongst parents with disabled children.
8.40. It would appear that progress has been made in the percentage of disabled people in employment since 1999, but that the movement of disabled people into employment by comparison with non-disabled people is much slower.
8.41. The DWP survey of Households Below Average Income shows that there had been an improvement in the number of disabled individuals in households below the 60% poverty line between 2000/01and 2006-07, from 37 to 32% of all people, and in the case of households with disabled children, from 7% to 5%. The absence of a breakdown by country within the UK means that it is not possible to be able to tell precisely how much change there had been in Scotland.
8.42. In summary, evidence of progress on eliminating poverty amongst disabled people has been focused on by local authorities and, in some cases, in conjunction with health boards, work has been undertaken on encouraging the employment of disabled people. In addition, attention had also been paid by some authorities to supporting young people in obtaining employment and training. A number of local authorities have also undertaken effective welfare benefit campaigns
Areas where progress is less evident regarding poverty
8.43. There is significant absence of specific data regarding disabled people and poverty, both at a national level and also at local authority level to enable progress toward elimination of poverty affecting disabled people to be measured, particularly as a range of measures are necessary to obtain a good overall picture. The evaluation of progress under Closing the Opportunity Gap, whilst being able to consider indicators such as movement into employment, also felt obliged to utilise surrogate measures such as interviews with representative organisations in the field in order to obtain a picture of progress.
8.44. Only a minority of local authorities appeared to have developed data on the position of disabled people and poverty in their areas. Despite the NEET partnerships and the Workforce Plus strategy, anti-poverty action focused on disabled people does not always get highlighted or reported by local partnerships. Whether this is due to difficulties in developing indicators, or lack of prioritisation by comparison with other areas, is difficult to determine.
8.45. The fact that data on poverty and disabled people are relatively recent means that there is often no time series data available to enable a picture of progress to emerge. This appears to be the case regarding fuel poverty. However there is now considerably more data emerging on the position of child poverty and disability on a UK basis but this data is yet to be fully disaggregated for Scotland.
Categories of impairment groups mentioned in disability equality schemes
8.46. There was little data broken down by impairment groups, although information was available on employment rates of some groups. People with mental health problems, learning disabilities and sensory impairments appear to have particularly low employment rates. Whilst the employment rate for disabled people overall is 50%, for people with mental health problems the figure is 23% 25, for people who are blind or visually impaired the figure is 27% and for people with learning disabilities the figure is 7%.
Involvement of disabled people
8.47. A number of local authorities had sought to involve or consult disabled people in the development of their schemes on addressing poverty, though this was not extensive. The methods varied from a consultation with parents of disabled children, through to engagement with local disability fora on employment related issues. In some authorities, poverty related issues were addressed through their general involvement and engagement with disabled people over the development of their schemes.
Summary and conclusion
8.48. There is significant absence of specific data regarding disabled people and poverty, both at a national level and also at a local authority level, to enable a full overview on progress toward elimination of poverty affecting disabled people to be measured. The data that exists shows that poverty is a significant factor for many disabled people and that disabled people are significantly more likely to live in poverty by comparison with non-disabled people. This is particularly the case in the most deprived parts of Scotland. Unfortunately the lack of time series data hampers efforts to determine the scale of progress in reducing poverty over the past few years.
8.49. There is data at a UK level which shows that there has been little change in the percentage of disabled people in poverty between 2000/01 and 2006-07. However figures for Scotland were not available. There is also data that suggests that there has been progress in terms of the employment position of disabled people, with an increase from 37% to 50% between 1999 and 2007. The data collected for the evaluation of Closing of the Opportunity Gap shows, however, that the movement of disabled people into employment is disproportionately slower than that of non-disabled people.
8.50. A considerable number of local authorities have identified poverty amongst disabled people as a key issue, with 24 authorities listing actions to reduce poverty amongst disabled people. Several authorities have developed data looking at the position of disabled people and poverty for their localities and some had also developed strategies to tackle poverty in their localities. Key actions that local authorities listed to tackle poverty in their localities were efforts to increase employment by disabled people via supported employment schemes, welfare benefit take up campaigns and, in a few cases, working jointly with health boards on joint initiatives.
8.51. There would be appear to be a need to increase the amount of local data on poverty and disability, since more targeted anti-poverty strategies appeared to be associated with the availability of better data.
8.52. In order to further monitor and develop strategies to tackle poverty amongst disabled people on a national level, it would appear necessary for further steps to be taken to increase the availability of data, particularly in relation to disabled children and poverty, and in obtaining Scotland specific information.