╨╧рб▒с>■  ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ▄еhcр eАм Э───────╪╪╪╪╪ ф ю ╪1°№EXЭА─ ──°──@ЫhЫ5Л╟╪╪────Child Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: the Failure of Labour and the Union. Margaret Cuthbert Jim Cuthbert April 2007 In 1999, Tony Blair pledged that УThe child born in the run down estate should have the same chance to be healthy and well educated as the child born in the leafy suburbsФ, and he set a target to halve child poverty by 2010. Tony Blair was speaking about the UK as a whole: but his pledge was mirrored for Scotland by Wendy Alexander, who promised Уwe are working closely with the UK government to take radical action to tackle [child] povertyФ. Few would dissent from these sentiments: child poverty is not merely evil in its immediate effects, but is likely to result in poor educational attainment, reduced opportunities, and relatively poor health in later life. This lays down a cycle of deprivation which will replicate the same problems in future generations. But has Labour delivered on these pledges, either for the UK or for Scotland? The answer, as is now well known, is that they have not. Up until 2005, things seemed to be reasonably on track. But then, in March 2007, came the publication of official figures which showed that the number of children living in relative poverty in Britain had risen for the first time in six years, having increased by 100,000 to a total of 3.8 million: these figures make it extremely unlikely that Labour can achieve its child poverty pledge. In Scotland, Labour is also having problems. The 2005 interim target was met, aided by a fall of 10% between 1995 and 2005 in the population of under 16 year olds. However, there was no further reduction in child poverty in Scotland between 2005 and 2006, and it is highly unlikely that the target of halving child poverty by 2010 will be reached. This overall position for Scotland, bad as it is, conceals some truly shocking statistics for local areas within Scotland, particularly in Glasgow. In the UK as a whole, there are 10,000 local government wards: if these wards are ranked on the basis of the percentage of children living in families where no-one works, then 3 of the worst ten wards in the UK are in Glasgow- as are 6 of the worst 15 wards. In the area of Keppochhill in Glasgow, 66% of children under 5, and 60% of children between 5 and 15, are in families which are totally dependent on state benefits. 19 of the 79 wards in Glasgow have more than 50% of children living in families which are entirely dependent on benefits. So what has gone wrong. LabourТs basic strategy on poverty and social inclusion is to get people into work. As welfare reform minister Jim Murphy said, УThe Government must encourage the unemployed to think СWork first, benefits secondТФ. If these jobs are low paid, then Labour supplements family income with Gordon BrownТs Working Family Tax Credit. But there are many families where tax credits are not sufficient to lift the family out of relative child poverty. So if LabourТs basic strategy is to succeed, then what is required is to create not just jobs, but a sufficient wealth and depth of job opportunities to enable families to progress out of poverty. This is where LabourТs strategy has been falling down: and the failure has been particularly acute in Scotland. At an early stage in the present election campaign, Jack McConnell attempted to make great play with LabourТs record of job creation, boasting that Scotland had an extra 200,000 jobs. The source for these figures was a report published by the Department of Works and Pensions: but somehow, McConnell failed to point out that the same report shows that Scotland has in fact the third worst record of job creation out of all the countries and regions of the UK. Further, the report indicates that Scotland has experienced very limited growth in male jobs: most of the growth has been in female employment, which tends to involve a higher proportion of part time working and also a lower rate per hour. So in terms of the twin requirements for LabourТs child poverty strategy to succeed, (namely, the creation of enough jobs, and of a job market offering sufficient opportunities for progression), Scotland has in fact been falling down on both counts. Our job creation record has been poor relative to the UK, and the jobs have been of the wrong type. What is particularly shocking about ScotlandТs child poverty is that all this is taking place in the midst of a land of potential plenty. The official statistics for Scottish Gross Value Added, (GVA), which is the accepted measure of national output for Scotland, indicate that Scotland has a GVA of about г86 billion, which, on a per capita basis, is about 96% of the UK level. But these official statistics exclude from the Scottish figures any share of oil and gas production. The GVA of the oil and gas sector is no less than г22billion, according to official figures: and at least 90% or so of this would accrue to Scotland, (on the basis of the internationally accepted Geneva Convention for the apportionment of the Continental Shelf between nation states, which was ratified by the UK in 1964). Despite this potential wealth, we are expected to sit quietly, with areas where, as we have seen, two thirds of children under 5 are in families where no-one works - and listen to Wendy Alexander preaching to us about the benefits of the Union dividend. The answer is clear: the key to tackling problems like child poverty is to shake off the shackles of the failed union, and to devote our best energies to realising ScotlandТs potential. No-one is pretending this would be an easy task: what is required is not handouts, but the long run transformation of the Scottish economy. Without fundamental constitutional change, we cannot even begin to tackle these challenges constructively. PAGE 1 бЩдГ.е╚AжзиайакJЭЮдежзилм╚■°Ў°Є°ЎЁuPaP uDPUБ K]juv56wxЕЖт у Ъ Ы 34┐└цчЩЪЫЬЭийклм■√√√■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■їє■■■`№ K@ё Normala c"A@Є б"Default Paragraph Font@TOC 1a  @ Footer 9r )@в Page Numberмм     ╚ мм !Ф ХА @1РTimes New Roman РSymbol "РArial"А╨hщє┤&щє┤&$d┤ЖEе Г'АIChild Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: the Failure of Labour and the UnionPreferred CustomerMargaret Cuthbert ■   ¤   ■   ■                               ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Root Entry         └F@ЫhЫ5Л╟WordDocument     CompObj            jSummaryInformation(        ■    ■    ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ■       └FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8Ї9▓q■ рЕЯЄ∙OhлС+'│┘0фШаЇ(4D `l Ф а м ╕─╠╘▄фJChild Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: the Failure of Labour and the UnionDO1.JPreferred Customer1.SOCANormalMargDocumentSummaryInformation8                                                 ■       └FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8Ї9▓qМфDell Computer CorporationG' JChild Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: the Failure of Labour and the Unionaret Cuthbertf20.Microsoft Word for Windows 95@F├#@░`E}╟@&▄С5Л╟@&▄С5Л╟Eе■ ╒═╒Ь.УЧ+,∙о0Ё@Hlt |Д МфDell Computer CorporationG' JChild Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: the Failure of Labour and the Union