Reducing Poverty and Creating Income Equality: Creating a Wealthier and Fairer Scotland
For generations poverty and income inequality has held Scotland back. For too long the wealth of a child’s family has determined their chance of enjoying a successful life, in addition to this older people, due to a lack of income can be deprived of the dignity to live. Furthermore families can be dragged into a cycle of deprivation.
According to statistics around 840,000 individuals – 17% of Scotland’s population are affected by relative poverty. This includes 210,000 children, 440,000 working age adults and 180,000 pensioners, which equates to around 20% of all pensioners in Scotland.
To address this and create a wealthier and fairer Scotland the Scottish government through: Achieving Our Potential: A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland created a broad and overarching strategy to address poverty and inequality. Through this framework the government hope to support those in or close the margins of poverty are lifted out of poverty in a sustainable way.
The framework aims to, by 2017, increase the share of income received by the poorest 30% of the population in Scotland. This group is made up of 1,500,000 individuals in 850,000 families; 370,000 children; 370,000 pensioners; and 760,000 people of working age.
But how will this strategy create an environment for this? And what will the focus be? The framework sets out 4 further priorities for action and investment to deliver improvement:
1. Reducing income inequalities
2. Introducing longer-term measures to tackle poverty and the drivers of low income
3. Supporting those experiencing poverty or at risk of falling into poverty
4. Making the tax credits and benefits system work better for Scotland
With these important issues in mind this timely, informative and crucial briefing will take an in-depth look at the steps being taken to tackling poverty and develop income equality. The event will foster an environment for informed debate and discussion and will give delegates a platform from which to learn and to share.