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Social Justice a Scotland where everyonematters · of out-of-work benefits by providing them with...
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Social Justice ...a Scotland where everyone matters
Transcript of Social Justice a Scotland where everyonematters · of out-of-work benefits by providing them with...
Social Justice ...a Scotland where everyone matters
the
firs
t m
inis
ter
Do
nal
d D
ewar
MS
P We are committed to promoting social justice and equality of opportunityfor everyone in Scotland.
When I launched the Social Inclusion Strategy in March of this year I saidthat Scotland was on the threshold of a new future. A future whereeveryone matters, where together we can build on the commitment tosocial justice which lies at the heart of political and civic life in Scotland.We need to harness the efforts of many to the greater good of all, andestablish social justice as the hallmark of Scottish society.
Much has happened since March. The Parliament has been elected, apowerful Ministerial Taskforce on Poverty and Inclusion has beenestablished under Communities Minister Wendy Alexander to lead oursocial justice agenda. The Scottish Social Inclusion Network hascontinued to identify areas for priority attention and the UK Governmenthas published Opportunity for all: Tackling poverty and social exclusion.
This report is the outcome of all this work, setting out a vision of aScotland where everyone matters. Her we set out targets and milestones- measures by which we can live up to our vision.
We cannot right the wrongs of the past overnight. We know many ofScotland’s injustices are complex and deep-rooted. But our aim is toachieve real and lasting change in people’s lives that can be seen and felt.Above all we wish to make child poverty a thing of the past within ageneration.
The purpose of this report is to commit Scotland to a set of targets thatcan only be achieved if we follow them up by action and change. Our Action Plan will be published in the spring. But it starts with targets.Our targets for Scotland are ambitious, but by working together we canachieve a Scotland where everyone matters.
Foreword
01
the
min
iste
r fo
r co
mm
un
itie
sW
endy
Ale
xan
der,
MS
P The establishment of the Scottish Parliament should not only be a matterof pride but of possibility. As we enter the 21st century, every Scottishcitizen deserves a life of opportunity and freedom from poverty. The Parliament has a vital leadership role to play in achieving those goals.
If we are to build that Scotland characterised by social justice we shouldbe willing to measure our successes and face up to our failures. This document gives Scotland a set of targets against which to measureyear by year whether we are living up to our promises through an AnnualScottish Social Justice Report.
Too often, past strategies to tackle poverty and injustice in Scotland havebeen more about consequences than causes and places instead of people.What is really new about this report is that for the first time we addressboth people and places in the fight against poverty. Throughout, ourtargets are focused on people, and changing their lives. How we grow up. How we live. How we work. How we raise families. How we grow old.
The public, private and voluntary sectors all have a role to play inchanging peoples’ lives for the better. It is a challenge for the whole ofScotland. Achieving our targets will also be about more than what wespend. It will be about how we spend, whom we work with and how weorganise for change.
Our vision is for a new nation with new politics - built on enduring values.In making those commitments to social justice for Scotland we can onlydeliver in partnership with the United Kingdom. As we look forward, wecan take inspiration from all those who, in their time, have advanced thecause of social justice: individuals like Robert Owen, Elsie Ingles, John Wheatley, William Beveridge and Aneurin Bevan.
Just as, at the start of the last century, progressive politicians from varioustraditions laid out their vision for a different Scotland around publichealth, decent housing, the right to education, to work and fairness atwork and for universal suffrage. Today, Scotland’s Parliament andExecutive should be no less ambitious in our time, and together, it can be our achievment.
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The Scottish Executive has put social justice at the heart of ourProgramme for Government. Here we set out our commitment to socialjustice and to meeting our principal aim, defeating child poverty inScotland within a generation.
Targets for tackling poverty
In this first phase, we:
>Set out our vision, our targets and our milestones for delivering social
justice in Scotland.
>Provide new directions for the future allocation and use of public
resources to deliver that vision.
By setting out our vision, targetsand milestones for tacklingpoverty and injustice we lay thefoundations for an AnnualScottish Social Justice Report.That report, to be published fromnext year, will measure progressagainst longer-term targets andshorter-term milestones.Scotland will know if we aremoving towards a fairer, more justnation.
The Annual Scottish Social JusticeReport will be based on themeasures we outline here.
>Targets for 2020 - ambitious
targets that will stand the test of
time, stamping out injustice and
defeating child poverty.
>Milestones - short term
milestones towards delivering
the long-term targets.
Publishing an Annual ScottishSocial Justice Report each yearfrom now means starting tomeasure what matters. Here welay out what matters. We arestarting now to collect the datawe need to publish the AnnualScottish Social Justice Report - 10targets, 29 milestones and awealth of technical pieces of data(outlined in the technicaldocument). Together it adds upto the most comprehensiveframework ever for tacklingpoverty in Scotland.
Achieving our ambitious targetscan only happen throughpartnership with colleaguesacross the UK. We share acommon commitment todelivering social justice. A beliefthat we are stronger togetherand weaker apart as people, as
communities and as nations.
Earlier this year the UKGovernment’s Opportunity for all:
Tackling poverty and social
exclusion laid out UK benchmarksin reserved areas and we havetaken these on board. Indevolved areas we map outdistinctive Scottish measures.But wherever lead responsibilitylies, poverty is something that wecan only defeat together.
Every young person leaves school
with the maximum level of skills
and qualifications possible
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Life Cycle
Phase 2
Action Plan - the way ahead
The targets in the Scottish SocialJustice Report can only bedelivered through focus,leadership and “new directions”in the allocation and use ofpublic, private and voluntarysector resources. The second halfof this document spells out these“new directions” in spending,joined up working and communityleadership necessary to makechange happen on the ground.
We will drive home those “newdirections” in Spring when we willpublish our Action Plan, settingout how we, and our partners, willprovide the means to deliver themilestones.
Meaningful change requires anew set of tools to help fightinjustice. Our Action Plan willinclude new initiatives andpolicies from across the whole ofthe Scottish Executive. It willrequire the active commitment -in written statements - from
agencies, communities and theprivate sector that describe theircontribution to the fight. And itwill show how the principles ofequal opportunities andsustainable development shouldunderpin social justice.
But the starting point is to build aconsensus on what needs tochange - the targets. And alsohow we will get there - themilestones. The challenge isdaunting, but the prize isimmense.
Every 19 year old is engaged in
education, training or work
children
young peopleolder people
families
All children in Scotland can read, write and
count to a level appropriate for their ability
on leaving primary school
Defeat child poverty in Scotland
within this generation
Every one will be undertaking some form of
learning to widen their knowledge and skillsThere will be full employment in Scotland
Make sure older people
are financially secure
Increase the number of older
people who enjoy active,
independent and healthy lives
Reduce inequalities
between communities
Increase residents’
satisfaction with their
neighbourhoods and
communities
communities
To fully understand the severity
of the problem we are facing we
need to understand what has
happened over the last twenty
years when the 80’s and early
90’s saw a significant increase in
the numbers of people living in
poverty.
Economic managementcharacterised by cycles of boomand bust in the economydamaged growth prospects andled to some communitiessuffering disproportionately. Withlittle help to get back into work,unemployment blighted theworsening position of the poorestcommunities. At the same timethe benefits system failed toadapt to changes in the labourmarket and society and becamepart of the problem. It failed torespond to the increasednumbers of lone parents or to sickand disabled claimants in receiptof out-of-work benefits byproviding them with newopportunities. The culturebecame one of simply paying outbenefits, rather than providingpeople with active help to getback into work.
Other key policy areascontributed to this decline. Theeducation system failed to give allour children the skills they needfor later life. So too in health,with people from poorneighbourhoods tending to be illmore often and die earlier.
The extent of the worseningposition over the last twentyyears can be seen from thefollowing statistics:
>The number of people inScotland living in relative povertymore than doubled
>The proportion of children inScotland living in householdswith relatively low incomesincreased two and a half times
>The proportion of Scottishchildren being brought up inworkless households doubled
>People from the poorest areas inScotland are now nearly threetimes as likely to die early thanpeople from the richest areas
>People in Scotland without aqualification have less than aneven chance of being inemployment, yet more than 4000pupils left school in 1997 withoutany Standard Grades
This was the legacy inherited in1997. It was a pattern of poverty,neglect and decline that neededto be reversed.
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How did we get here? A rising tide of poverty
% children in Scottish householdswith no working adults
% Scottish population in householdsbelow mean GB income
13.7
1979 1996/97
1979 1996/97
26.4
% Scottish population living inworking age workless households
% of men & women in employment byhighest qualification
13.8
1979 1996/97
25.5
Degree+
men women
85% 84%78%
70% 70%
50%46%
67%
Highers or
equivalent
No qualifica
tions
Standard
s
or equiva
lent
10.1
20.0
3.1
40 50 60 40 50 60
13.3
26.3
33.1
source: DSS-Households Below Average Income
source: DSS-Households Below Average Income
source: DSS-Households Below Average Incomesource: Labour Force Survey-Spring 1999
below %
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The record since 1997
Low-income families are
benefiting from:
>The introduction of the first everNational Minimum Wage.
>The introduction of a WorkingFamilies Tax Credit which willbenefit 140,000 families inScotland by 2000, with aMinimum Income Guarantee for afamily with someone in full-timework of £200 a week.
Families with children are
benefiting from:
>An increase in child benefit of36% between 1997 and 2000.
>The introduction of a Children’sTax Credit from 2001.
>The provision of nursery placesfor all 3 and 4 year olds.
>On average British families arenow £740 a year better off as aresult of the last two Budgets.
Workless households are
benefiting from:
>The New Deal which has helpedreduce long term youthunemployment by 60% and longterm unemployment by 40% inScotland.
>A new single point of entry to thebenefits system, ONE.
>The expansion of new ModernApprenticeships for young peopleand the planned introduction ofIndividual Learning Accounts toimprove skills.
People’s health is benefiting
from:
>The biggest ever hospitalbuilding programme in Scotlandto provide 8 major newdevelopments.
>The planned development of anetwork of Healthy Living Centres.
>More patient centred carethrough Walk in/Walk outservices, an additional 80 OneStop Clinics and streamlinedbooking systems.
>Shorter waiting lists.
Children’s education is benefiting
from:
>Reduced class sizes.
>A huge investment in 100 new orrenovated schools and thecreation of 60 New CommunitySchools.
>New attainment targets, earlyintervention initiatives, homeschool projects and after-schoolclubs to help ensure no childmisses out on the best start inschool.
>Increased access, particularly forthose from disadvantagedbackgrounds, to further andhigher education.
Older people are benefiting from:
>The Minimum Income Guaranteeof £78 a week for a single person,over £121 for a couple, now risingin line with earnings.
>A five-fold increase in the WinterFuel Payment to £100 and thenew Warm Deal Scheme to helpconserve energy and reduce bills.
>The restoration of free eye testsand free TV licenses for over 75s.
Since 1997 many changes have been introduced which have started
to turn around our appalling inheritance.
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As we enter the 21st Centuryevery Scottish citizen deservesfreedom from poverty andequality of opportunity.
The creation of Scotland’sParliament demands that westand back and reflect on the sortof Scotland we can build. If weare to build a Scotlandcharacterised by fairness andjustice we need to be willing tomeasure our successes and faceup to our failures.
This report sets ambitioustargets. Building a new Scotlandcharacterised by fairness andjustice may take a generation.But by moving beyond endlessanalysis and the development ofstrategies to taking action andsetting targets, we can sign up allthose committed to changing ourcountry for the better.
This report does just that.Scotland now has a set of targetsagainst which to measure year byyear through an Annual ScottishSocial Justice Report whether weare living up to our promises.
Working together
Scotland now has a ScottishExecutive and a UK Government,defined by its commitments tocombining enterprise with socialjustice, high and stableemployment and the ending ofchild poverty within a generation.These are shared objectives,which the Scottish Executive willdeliver in partnership with the UKGovernment.
The main driver of poverty overthe last 20 years has beenworklessness. But already in twoshort years, long-term youthunemployment in Scotland isdown 60% and long-termunemployment is down 40%. Oursuccess in achieving economicstability has created the basis forsustainable growth, thealleviation of poverty and a far-reaching attack on the rootcauses of social injustice. It isnow possible for the UKGovernment and the ScottishExecutive to work together todeliver social justice in Scotland:
>getting people back to work
>investing in children
>tackling pensioner poverty
Sound economic managementprovides the foundations for ourpolicies for creating opportunitiesto work and modernising the taxand benefits system to providework for those who can andsecurity for those who cannot.We can only deliver our vision ifwe commit to a modernisedwelfare state and modernisedgovernment.
The Scottish Executive - with ourresponsibilities for education,health, environment and housinghas a responsibility toconcentrate on tackling the rootcauses of poverty and injustice.We are putting in place a range ofnew programmes from FamilyCentres to New CommunitySchools to measures to tacklefuel poverty. We are building asafe, clean environment in whichto live. But social justice is aboutmore. We also have to challengesystems that promote injusticeand which stop people playing afull role in their families, theircommunities and Scotland.
Looking to the future -
a Scotland where everyone matters
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Too often past strategies to tacklepoverty and injustice in Scotlandhave been more about placesthan they have been aboutpeople. Both matter - and so tokeep our focus on the people ofScotland we have chosen thelifecycle as the way to set targets.How we grow up. How we live.How we work. How we raisefamilies. How we grow old. Bytargeting poverty and injustice ineach phase of our lifecycle, wecan stop deprivation becoming away of life and being passed onthrough the generations.
Our communities need to besupported to be able to takemore ownership of their owndestinies. Too many Scottishcommunities and neighbourhoodsare isolated and disadvantaged,or in danger of becoming so. Webelieve that every communitymatters and we need to worktogether with them to plan for amore inclusive future.
Our dual emphasis is reflected inthis report as we set targets andmilestones for people and places.
A modern Government
for a modern age
We can only deliver social justiceif we commit to modern, effectivegovernment, which promotessocial justice across each area ofgovernment policy and practice.And achieving our targets will beabout more than how much wespend. It will be about how wespend, whom we work with andhow we organise for change.
All the research on tacklinginjustice points to the need forconnected milestones and actionsto achieve social justice. Werecognise that our targets cannotbe achieved by our action alone.They are targets for us all to aimfor, working in partnership - theScottish Executive, other nationalagencies, local government, theNHS and the voluntary,community and private sectors,working alongside a UKGovernment that shares ouraspirations.
Throughout, our targets arefocused on people and changingtheir lives. Governments,agencies and organisations canprovide the conditions, butsuccess will be about people’slives changing. It is a challengefor the whole of Scotland.
>The targets outlined in this
document are designed to last.
>To endure beyond any one
administration.
>To act as a benchmark against
which Scotland can measure its
success.
One hundred years ago,progressive politicians fromvarious traditions laid out theirvision for a different Scotland.Their challenges around publichealth, decent housing, the rightto education, to work and fairnessat work and for universal suffragewere right for their time.Scotland’s Parliament should beno less ambitious in our time.
People and places
0908
every o
ur
visi
on A Scotland in which every child matters, where every child, regardless
of their family background, has the best possible start in life
Too many of our people have beenborn into poverty, grown up inpoverty and died in poverty. Thiswill only change with determinedaction.
Too many of our children are heldback by not having access toopportunities to grow, learn andplay in a safe and healthyenvironment. By the time theyleave primary school, too many ofour children are unable to read,write and count to a satisfactorylevel, or even possess the basiclife-skills that they will need.
And this poverty of experience andopportunity is more likely to bepassed on to the next generation.
Our historic challenge is to breakthis obscene cycle of deprivation.We will focus our action now on thehealth and welfare of babies andyoung children; the early life-skillsof young children; and improvingchildren’s experience of learning atprimary school. By combatingfamily poverty, we will make sureno child lives in poverty and suffersfrom unequal opportunities.
childmatters
>Reducing the proportion of our
children living in workless
households
>Reducing the proportion of our
children living in low income
households
>Increasing the proportions of our
children who attain the appropriate
levels in reading, writing and maths
by the end of Primary 2 and Primary 7
>All of our children will have access to
quality care and early learning before
entering school
>Improving the well-being of our
young children through reductions in
the proportion of women smoking
during pregnancy, the percentage of
low birth-weight babies, dental decay
among 5 year olds, and by increasing
the proportion of women
breastfeeding
>Reducing the number of households,
and particularly families with
children, living in temporary
accommodation
Mil
esto
nes
Lon
g t
erm
tar
get
s Defeat child poverty in Scotland within this generation
All children in Scotland can read, write and count to a
level appropriate for their ability on leaving primary school
every young personmatters
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ou
r vi
sio
n A Scotland in which every young person has the opportunities, skills and support to make a successful transition to working life and active citizenship.
The early teens are the next makeor break period in a person’s life.By the age of 16, a significantproportion of our young peoplewill have struggled to achievebasic entry-level qualificationsdemanded by a fast changingworld of work.
Others will have becomeincreasingly isolated or alienated,so by the time they leave theirteens, they are in danger ofentering a downward spiral of lowpaid, insecure work, or evendropping out completely.
We have to end this downwardspiral. We have to narrow the gapin attainment for vulnerable anddisadvantaged young people.Our actions must help themaccess the same opportunities asothers and reduce their isolationfrom mainstream activities -including schooling.
We want to focus support on themost vulnerable young peoplewho are in greatest danger ofbecoming permanently excluded -Whether it is from difficultchoices that anyone faces at thisage or from particularly difficultcircumstances some youngpeople find themselves in.
Lon
g t
erm
tar
get
s
Every young person leaves school with the maximum level
of skills and qualifications possible.
Every 19 year old is engaged in education, training or work.
>Halving the proportion of 16-19
year olds who are not in education,
training or employment.
>All our young people leaving local
authority care will have achieved at
least English and Maths Standard
Grades and have access to
appropriate housing options.
>Bringing the poorest-performing
20% of pupils, in terms of Standard
Grade achievement, closer to the
performance of all pupils.
>Reducing by a third the days lost
every year through exclusion from
school and truancy.
>Improving the health of young
people through reductions in
smoking by 12-15 year olds, teenage
pregnancies among 13-15 year olds
and the rate of suicides among
young people.
>No-one has to sleep rough.
Mil
esto
nes
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everyfamily matters
ou
r vi
sio
n A Scotland, in which every family is able to support itself - with work for those who can and security for those who can’t.
Too many people are out of work orare in jobs that leave them in avulnerable position and ‘work-poor’.This means many families inScotland are experiencing poverty,whilst others still experienceisolation. Many barriers exist thatprevent people from taking upworking and learning opportunities.These barriers are not alwayseconomic - they can be barriers ofhealth, barriers of learning, orbarriers of personal circumstances.
We will deliver employment andincome related policies by workingtogether with the UK Government.We will focus our activity to makesure everyone is in a position tobenefit from learning throughouttheir lives - whether academic,vocational or life-skills - as aperson’s ability to earn is closelyconnected to the level of skills andqualifications they have. And wewill make sure that particularlydisadvantaged and vulnerablegroups can access increasedopportunities, including access to afull range of services.
>Reducing the proportion of unemployed
working age people.
>Reducing the proportion of working
age people with low incomes.
>Increasing the employment rates of
groups, such as lone parents and ethnic
minorities, that are relatively
disadvantaged in the labour market.
>Increasing the proportion of students
from under represented, disadvantaged
groups and areas in higher education
compared with the overall student
population in higher education.
>Increasing the proportion of people with
learning disabilities able to live at home
or in a ‘homely’ environment.
>Improving the health of families by
reducing smoking, alcohol misuse, poor
diet and mortality rates from coronary
heart disease.
Mil
esto
nes
Lon
g t
erm
tar
get
s
There will be full employment in Scotland.
Every one will be undertaking some form of learning to
widen their knowledge and skills.
every older personmatters
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ou
r vi
sio
n A Scotland in which every person beyond working
age has a decent quality of life.
Too many older people in Scotlandexperience financial insecurity,isolation and poor access toservices. This means thatalthough people can expect to livelonger now than in the past, thequality of life for many inretirement is not satisfying orenjoyable. Poor health, poorhousing and a fear of crime can alllimit an older person’sindependence and ability toparticipate in the life of theircommunities.
We will tackle poverty andinjustice for older people inpartnership with the UKGovernment. Actions on incomesand pensions will be underpinnedwith actions that improve accessto better services and improveopportunities for older people tolive secure and fulfilling lives, andmake sure older people are able tomaintain their dignity to provide abetter quality of life.
>Reducing the proportion of older
people with low incomes.
>Increasing the proportion of working
age people contributing to a non-state
pension.
>Increasing the proportion of older
people able to live independently by
doubling the proportion of older
people receiving respite care at home
and increasing home care
opportunities.
>Increasing the number of older people
taking exercise and reducing the rates
of mortality from coronary heart
disease and the prevalence of
respiratory disease.
>Reducing the fear of crime among
older people.M
iles
ton
es
Lon
g t
erm
tar
get
s
Make sure older people are financially secure.
Increase the number of older people who enjoy active,
independent and healthy lives.
everycommunity matters
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ou
r vi
sio
n A Scotland in which every person both contributes to, and benefits fromthe community in which they live
The strength and wellbeing ofcommunities and neighbourhoodsis vital because this is where we livetogether. And it is how we livetogether that can make or break acommunity. For too many ofScotland’s communities, there is aconcentration of linked problems -high unemployment, poor health,poor services, poor quality ofenvironment, inadequate housingand high crime.
Scotland has some of the mostdisadvantaged communities in theUK. And it is not restricted to oururban areas. Our rural communitiesalso face many obstacles becauseof isolation, lack of opportunities or
difficulty in accessing theopportunities that are available. We will tackle the problems in theworst of these areas and preventothers from becomingdisadvantaged. We will do thisthrough an integrated approach tostrategic planning, involvingcommunities in the renewal of theirown neighbourhoods and bymaking sure these communities caninfluence what happens in their ownarea. We will make sure services,including health and communitycare, are organised around theneeds of the individuals andcommunities rather than the benefitof the agencies which deliver thoseservices.
>Reducing the gap in
unemployment rates between the
worst areas and the average rate for
Scotland.
>Reducing the incidence of drugs
misuse in general and of injections
and sharing of needles in particular.
>Reducing crime rates in
disadvantaged areas.
>Increasing the quality and variety
of homes in our most disadvantaged
communities.
>Increasing the number of people
from all communities taking part in
voluntary activities.
>Accelerating the number of
households in disadvantaged areas
with access to the Internet.
Mil
esto
nes
Lon
g t
erm
tar
get
s
Reduce inequalities between communities.
Increase residents’ satisfaction with their neighbourhoods
and communities.
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Measuring our progress
Our milestones are intended to
provide focus and therefore do not
cover every aspect of our social
justice programme. We have built
on the work done by the Social
Inclusion Network to develop a
range of indicators after the launch
of the Social Inclusion Strategy,
extending it to cover the lifecycle
theme, which concentrates our
attention on people.
At the same time we are determinednot to fall into the trap of beinginterested in only what we canmeasure. We don’t have enoughempirical knowledge about someareas. Indeed, we don’t haveenough information yet to know inall areas how big a change we needto achieve before people can seereal progress.
To publish the first Annual ScottishSocial Justice Report next year willrequire us to start new datacollection now. But we do not onlywant to track problems. We alsowant to drive change. So we arealso commissioning new research totell us more about poverty inScotland and to understand betterhow problems link and reinforceeach other. Level of income isclearly a vital component of povertybut other factors also matter, andwe will do more work to bring clarityand greater definition to increaseour understanding.
These are long-term problems thatneed long-term targets. Because weneed to know how we areprogressing over time, we willmonitor the milestones over the
term of the Parliament. The AnnualScottish Social Justice Report willtrack progress against themilestones.
The UK Government has a set ofindicators that cover reservedmatters. Some of these areparticularly important in ourunderstanding of the extent of socialinjustice in Scotland and we haveincluded these within ourmilestones. The UK Government willlead on the data collection andanalysis for these.
The technical document, whichshould be read alongside thisreport, gives more detail on how thetargets and milestones will bemeasured and how new datacollection will be managed.
Social justice and equal
opportunities
We will promote equal opportunitiesand challenge discriminatoryattitudes and practices.
Some groups within our societysuffer persistent injustice. This isoften caused and exacerbated bydiscrimination and prejudice.Women form a significant proportionof groups vulnerable to poverty,especially lone mothers and elderlywomen. People from minority ethniccommunities and people withdisabilities also suffer injustice ordiscrimination, and continue toencounter barriers to their fullparticipation in employment and insociety more generally.Discrimination on the grounds ofsexual orientation restrictsopportunities and contributes to
injustice. Age discrimination, too,means that society is failing tobenefit from the skills andexperiences of all its members.
We are working to make sure equalopportunities for all is part andparcel of all our programmes.Gender, race, sexual orientation,disability, age - these should not beallowed to affect choice andopportunity in the new Scotland.
Social justice and expenditure
Delivering social justice will involvepeople, places and processes. It willrequire new ideas, organisations,professional perspectives andcommunity commitments. But it willalso need a more effective rethink ofhow to allocate and use publicbudgets. Here we describe how wehave begun to develop suchbudgetary systems within theScottish Executive and thediscussions we have begun withother social partners.
Clearly the long-term targets andmilestones set out here will bothshape, and be shaped, by public,expenditure decisions at UK andScottish levels. But it is not simplythe amounts of money involved inparticular programmes and places,which will help deliver the outcomeswe want. Rather the ways in whichbudgets are integrated acrosssectors such as education, healthand housing, targeted betweenplaces and people, and spent in linewith community preferences alsomatter. We are aiming for abudgetary system that is drivenmore by local requirements andpreferences rather than the
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traditional vertical structures or‘silos’ of government.
Our commitment to transparencyand accountability in budgets has tobe matched by a desire to makeexpenditures effective and relevantto the problems perceived andexperienced by particularcommunities and groups. Threeareas of change are being explored.
The budgetary system
The budgetary system, whichallocates public expenditure toparticular spending programmes istraditionally planned andimplemented within singlegovernment departments. Yetachieving social justice requiresactions that involve programmesspanning more than onedepartment. A start was made onthis during the ComprehensiveSpending Review which plans up to2001-02 but we will need to build onthis during the review process nextyear which will set plans for 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. For theScottish Executive to tackle complexissues, such as poverty, in moreeffective ways, the process will haveto ensure departments prioritiseactivities that supportdisadvantaged individuals and areas-poverty proofing- and encouragecross-departmental working.Programme integration starts at thetop of the spending process.
Integrated local actions
Integrated local actions, ofteninvolving expenditures by differentgovernment agencies and a range ofcouncil departments, are nowessential aspects of partnerships topromote area regeneration andindividual wellbeing. Partnershipaction may be frustrated however bylocal budgetary processes. In someinstances the localised mix ofavailable budgets may not matchthe required pattern of spend withinthe project, even where the overallfunds would meet strategicrequirements. That is, there arelocalised mismatches in the mix ofbudgets and its alignment with theproblems. There may also beinstances where some critical issueblocks local progress yet none of thepartners has relevant spendingpowers.
We are examining ways in whichpartners in integrated projects maybe able to co-fund such action, forexample by re-allocating a limitedshare of their local budgets topartnership funds or to otherpartners, as illustrated in BOX A.This local flexibility has to bematched to overall agencyaccountability but local blending ofspend should be part of the tool kitavailable to local organisations inthe future.
Community expenditure patterns
Community expenditure patternsmatter. In recent years we havelearned more about the patterns andconsequences of measures topromote neighbourhoodregeneration. Even when the directspending on regeneration initiativesis significant, it is only a small part ofthe overall actions that shape thequality of places and the lives ofthose who live there. We know thatmainstream programme expendituresand services, such as education,social security and health provision,may often be the key governmentinfluences on localised wellbeing.
One way of improving spendingdecisions by agencies and of givingcommunities a greater say is toproduce detailed information on localspending patterns. Some pilotstudies have already beenundertaken in Scotland, see Box B.Our intention is to further improvethe method for producing suchfigures and, in due course, producetotal spending budgets for all of thearea-based Social InclusionPartnerships.
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Social justice and personalised
services
The Modernising Governmentprogramme is the Government’scommitment for modernising thecountry’s public services. One of itsmain aims is to deliver publicservices to meet the needs ofcitizens, not the convenience ofservice providers. Harnessing newtechnologies for the benefit ofpeople will help achieve this.
Pilots such as ONE, which bringstogether the Benefits Agency,Employment Service anddepartments of local authorities,show how people-centred servicescan work to the benefit of theindividual, assisting with work andjob-readiness as well as claimmaking.
We recognise the crucialimportance to Scotland’s economicand social wellbeing of making fulluse of digital information andcommunications technology todeliver modern and efficient publicservices. We believe everycommunity and individual inScotland should have high qualityaccess to digital technology andinformation no matter where theylive or what their circumstances.The work of the Digital ScotlandMinisterial Committee and theDigital Scotland Task Force will co-ordinate action and help to createthe conditions where Scotland canuse leading edge technology to putpeople first.
Box A
Care in the community
We expect £140 million to be transferred from Health Boards to localauthority social work departments and the voluntary sector to help themprovide care in the community for people who were previously in long-stay hospitals. This contribution is designed to enable people to live intheir own homes, or in a homely setting, as part of the community. Thecreation of Community Care Trusts in Grampian and Angus are examplesof local initiatives. These pool statutory agencies’ resources to leverexternal finance and develop social care, health and housing services inthe community.
Box B
Identifying locality spending
Two pilots have been carried out to identify the spending by all thevarious public sector organisations in an area.
>In Greater Easterhouse spending by all the Council Departments and
by other organisations involved in the Greater Easterhouse Partnership
(including Greater Glasgow Health Board and Scottish Homes) has been
identified and added up. It amounts to over £100 million every year.
>In West Edinburgh the financial inputs for key activities has been
identified, including lifelong learning, community care and developing
the local economy. The revenue expenditure from public services in
West Edinburgh amounts to £44 million and capital expenditure almost
£6 million per year.
Further work to refine the methodologies will be carried out, includinghow to access information on services from outside the area. This approach should provide the information needed to helpcommunities and local agencies ensure they get the most benefit from the resources invested.
ISBN: 0 7480 89365
A Scotland in which every child matters, where every child, regardless of theirfamily background, has the best possible start in life.
A Scotland in which every young person has the opportunities, skills and supportto make a successful transition to working life and active citizenship.
A Scotland, in which every family is able to support itself - with work for thosewho can and security for those who can’t.
A Scotland in which every person beyond working age has a decent quality of life.
A Scotland in which every person both contrabutes to and benefits from thecommunity in which they live.
our vision for delivering social justice in scotland
The way forward
Here we have set out our vision and
long term targets for social justice
in Scotland and we have provided
focus by setting out milestones
that will mark progress towards
these. It will be essential that we
develop our budgetary processes
and use of public resources in a
way that sets delivering social
justice at the heart of all our
priorities.
In the spring we shall be publishingour Action Plan. Here we shall setout how we will begin to deliver ourobjective of social justice anddefeating child poverty in Scotland.We will set out our programmesalong with those from acrossdepartments and agencies thatshow how all the actions cometogether to achieve our commonaim. All of these actions togetherbuild on the foundations laid downby the UK Government to tacklepoverty and inequality ofopportunity.
The first Annual Scottish SocialJustice Report will follow - and wewill monitor progress annuallythereafter.
By setting down the statement ofwhat everyone in Scotland deserveswe can begin to tackle thedifference between what we aspireto and what we experience. Overtime as we work together, developnew policies and initiatives, andmonitor progress towards our visionwe will have a real and lasting effectin Scotland.
Delivering social justice is no short-term fix. But with a UKGovernment and Scottish Executiveworking in partnership now we havethe opportunity to deliver a betterfuture for our children, families,neighbourhoods and Scotland.
Our vision of a Scotland where everyone has the opportunity to
participate to the maximum of his or her potential will require
sustained effort over many years. But with determination and a
readiness to embrace social justice as a common, central goal of
Scottish society, it can be achieved.
Designed and produced on behalf of the Scottish Executive by Tactica Solutions B10417-November 1999
The information in this publication is also available free of charge in Braille, audio tape, large print format,Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Arabic, Chinese and Gaelic by phoning 0131 244 7376
The document is also available on the Scottish Executive website www.scotland.gov.uk/inclusion or bycontacting Susan Haddon, Scottish Executive, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
