Inequalities and Exclusion - Essay Example

Bagri Kavita Bagri 03 October 2009 Inequalities & Exclusion The aim of this essay is to define and describe the inter-relationship of poverty, inequality and social exclusion with specific reference to the older and ageing population of the United Kingdom. In order to achieve this aim I have categorized the essay into four broad categories : Social Exclusion, Inequalities, Poverty, and Social Inclusion. Each category discusses its relationship with others, government's policies to tackle it & the success & failure of these policies with reference to the group of older people. What is Social Exclusion Social Exclusion describes a situation where certain groups within a society are systematically disadvantaged because they are discriminated against. Social exclusion exists to some degree in all societies, and can occur across a number of dimensions: economic, social, political and cultural. Exclusion can be official or unofficial and can take place in a number of arenas, from the legal, health and education systems to the household and community. Tackling Social Exclusion by the UK Government The UK Government's Social Exclusion Unit was set up by the Prime Minister in 1997 to lead thinking on social exclusion within the UK Government and tackle the myriad forms of social exclusion within the UK. To help tackle social exclusion, the Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF), has three roles: 1. Identify priorities for people suffering from social exclusion: understand the persistence of exclusion across the life cycle and set priorities to give everyone a fair chance in life; 2. Test solutions to tackle social exclusion: find ways for agencies to work together to improve the delivery of services that meet individuals' and families' needs; 3. Facilitate collaboration across government and from the national to the local government levels: drive Public Service Agreement 16 on jobs and homes for at-risk and socially secluded adults. Since the focus of this essay is on socially excluded adults let us understand the Public Service Agreement. The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review includes a Public Service Agreement (PSA) aimed at reducing social exclusion among the vulnerable adults. The Socially Excluded Adults PSA is one of only 30 agreed across the whole of Government, and is the first agreement that has focussed specifically on the needs of the most vulnerable adults. The PSA aims to ensure that the most socially excluded adults are offered the chance to get back on a path to a more successful life, by increasing the proportion of at-risk individuals in settled accommodation; and employment, education or training. A home and a job are the core foundations of normal, everyday life which the majority of people take for granted. The PSA intends to help in the following ways: Encourage prevention and early intervention, by focusing on transition points when individuals can be helped to avoid long-term exclusion; Promote joint working, by setting out a shared cross-Government commitment to tackling exclusion; Focus resources, by sending a clear signal that helping these groups is a Government priority; Bagri 3 Incentivise and drive delivery, through a clear performance management framework for tackling social exclusion amongst adults and for monitoring and managing progress. Inequality and Exclusion To have a better understanding of the relationship between inequalities and exclusion we must broaden this section to relationship between Horizontal Inequalities, Vertical Inequality and Social Exclusion.1 Horizontal Inequalities concern inequalities between groups, where groups are culturally defined, consisting of people with common affiliations or identities. Vertical Inequality, on the other hand measures inequality among individuals or households. Group categorization may be race, religion, ethnicity, clan, region or gender. Relevant categorisations vary between societies and over time, according to which type of affiliation is most important to people. Horizontal Inequalities include political and social inequalities as well as economic. Vertical Inequality is mostly defined as inequality in income or expenditure. Like horizontal inequalities, social exclusion is multidimensional: the socially excluded are generally deprived in political as well as economic and social dimensions- for example, lacking citizenship rights, with low incomes and poor access to social services. Social Exclusion may apply to parts of several groups like poor Asians and Afro-Caribbeans in the UK, but no one group as a whole. High levels of social exclusion generally involve high vertical inequality. A politically, economically and socially inclusive society is one with low horizontal inequalities and little social exclusion. Policies to reduce social exclusion and horizontal inequalities concerns relative standards and involves redistributive policies. Bagri 4 Poverty No one common definition of poverty is accepted by all countries. Poverty is generally categorized as material deprivation. Generally, poverty is defined as the state of being poor or deficient in money or means of subsistence.2 Poverty and Older People The UK Home Department's policy for older people and their carers seeks to promote social inclusion and control over their lives, ensuring respect and choice. This enables older people to live independently for as long as possible, benefit from tailored care and support, and experience an enhanced quality of life. The policy includes: National Dementia Strategy, Housing, health and social care, Mental health services, Integration Demonstrator Programme: generations together, Partnerships for Older People Projects, and telecare services. However, according to a report published by Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on 24 July 2008, urgent action needs to be taken to curb a decline in mental health and wellbeing amongst the over 65s. The report claims that around 2.4 million older people are estimated to have depression which impairs their quality of life. The figures of 2006-07 suggest that 2.5 million people over 65 were living in poverty. In the words of Jessica Allen, Head of Health and Social Care, IPPR, "One million older people in UK are socially isolated..." Causes of Poverty in UK 1. Inequality in Wages and Earnings Growth Bagri 5 2. Falling Relative value of State Benefits 3. Higher levels of Structural and long term Unemployment 4. Regressive Taxes 5. Inheritance Poverty and Social Exclusion Prior to the 1997 Labour Government, the term 'social exclusion' was rarely, if ever, used when discussing social policy in the UK. After the Government started using the term 'social exclusion', the wider notion of 'poverty' = the narrower notion + 'social exclusion'. Impact of UK Policies on Older People 1. 1.3 million pensioners have no income other than the state retirement pension and state benefits. 2. More than half of workers on below-average incomes do not have a current pension. 3. The proportion of workers without a current pension is around a third for all ages from 40 to 60. 4. Each year around 20,000 more people aged 65 or over die in winter months than in other months. 5. The proportion of excess winter deaths amongst those aged 65 and over is similar in all regions. 6. A third of adults aged 65-74, and half of adults aged 75, and over, report a limiting longstanding sickness disability. 7. The proportion of older people receiving home care has halved since 1994 as available resources are increasingly focussed on those deemed most in need. 8. Among those aged 60 or over, around a quarter of women fell very unsafe out at night, four times the proportion for men. Bagri 6 Relationship between Inequality and Poverty Small changes in income distribution can have a large effect on poverty. Imagine a country where the share of national income that goes to the poorest 20% of the population increases from 6% to 6.25%. For the poor this represents a 4% increase in their total income. Changes in income distribution have even larger effects on measures of the depth and severity of poverty.3 Social Inclusion Social Inclusion is affirmative action to change the circumstances and habits that lead to (or have led to) social exclusion. It is a strategy to combat social exclusion. Older people and Social Inclusion The Older People's Programme (OPP) joined forces with the National Development Team on 1 April 2009 to create NDTi (National Development Team for Inclusion) - placing its work on improving the life chances of older people within a broader context of equality, inclusion and citizenship across the life course. Some of the major initiatives taken by the team in this respect include: Working with the Office for Disability Issues on a regional initiative focussed on independent living with and for older people who have high support needs; An independent evaluation of the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP) of Northern Ireland; Working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the cross Government team responsible for developing the new national strategy on ageing; An 18 month development programme working with 9 different local authorities and their partners; Working with the Alzheimer's Society; etc. Bagri 7 Works Cited 1. www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/social_exclusion_task_force 2. www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/SE5.pdf 3. www.poverty.org.uk/summary/socialexclusion 4. www.economicshelp.org/inequality/causes_poverty.html 5. http://www.dh.gov.uk 6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_exclusion#social_inclusion 7. www.ndti.org.uk/what-we-do/client-groups/older-people.aspx Read More