Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree’s 1899 study in York established that poverty could be measured through the use of a poverty line (Llewellyn, Agu and Mercer, 2015, p.44). The poverty line is defined as ‘a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor’ (Definition of poverty line, 2020). In 2017/18, after housing costs, 1.03 million people in Scotland were surviving below the poverty line (Overview of Poverty, 2019). There are different forms of poverty in Scotland, relative, persistent, and absolute. Relative poverty is when the homes expendable income falls below 60% of the national income median (Persistent poverty in the UK and EU - Office for National Statistics, 2020). Persistent poverty can be classified as when a household lives in relative poverty in the current year and at least for 2 out of 3 preceding years (Persistent poverty in the UK and EU - Office for National Statistics, 2020). Absolute poverty measured by the idea of subsistence – when one does not ‘have the resources to maintain human life’ (Haralambos, Holborn and Heald, 2008, p.214). There are numerous factors that cause people to live in poverty. However, this essay intends to discuss the extent that gender discrimination, health inequalities and the inequalities faced by children play towards poverty in Scotland.
A significant factor to consider when measuring the extent of poverty in Scotland is the existence of gender discrimination. Loosening the G rip of Women’s Poverty (2019) highlighted that 51.9% of women aged between 20 – 80 years old and who lived in ‘Scotland’s 5% Most Deprived Data zones’ were living in poverty. The gender pay gap is a key factor as to why women live with a higher poverty level than men. Women earn on average 15% less per hour then men (Women, Work and Poverty in Scotland, 2018). Therefore, due to this substantial pay gap women will always be at a monetary disadvantage. Another significant factor is that throughout society, women often face difficulties balancing a work and home life. Close the Gap’s ‘Women, Work and Poverty’ article states that 70% of unpaid care in Scotland is carried out by women. These extra responsibilities result in high stress levels and poor mental health (Haralambos, Holborn and Heald, 2008, p.235). To avoid this, woman tend to leave their job or work part time. Close the Gap (2019) found that 42% of employed women in Scotland work part time, compared to just 12% of men. This indicates that women will often be unable to progress professionally in comparison to men who can work full time. Thus, suggesting that paid work is not a guaranteed path out of poverty. Overall, it is clear that the aspect of gender plays a large role when examining the extent of the problem of poverty in Scotland. Whether it is due to gendered pay gaps or the demands of the caring role that women play in the home, it is clear poverty is gendered. Society has created an existence where women are homemakers and primary care givers, and men are the breadwinners of the household. Therefore, perhaps in order to aid the strides being taken to combat gendered poverty, societal gender roles need to be adjusted.
Health inequalities contribute greatly to the extent of poverty in Scotland. Platt (2019, p.241) suggests that health inequalities are caused by poor nutrition, environmental conditions, and limited access to healthcare. In Scotland 1 in 10 people suffer from food inequality (Connelly, 2018). Public Health Scotland (2019) states that causes of poor nutrition can be divided into two sub-categories. The first being ‘nutrition-related inequalities’ - the variations in what individuals eat across social groups (Food Poverty, 2019). The second type of inequality is referred to as ‘food-related inequalities’ (Food Poverty, 2019). This is the being of a limited capacity to access food across social groups. In order to tackle these issues, the Scottish Government introduced a number of initiatives. An initiative rolled out by the Government is the ‘Fair Food Transformation Fund’. This fund was created in order to boost local community schemes attempting to tackle food inequalities (Fair Food Transformation Fund, 2019). The fund encourages the community to help each other. The people who use the resource have the opportunity to work alongside volunteers – building relationships and diminishing bias. However, whilst the Government initiatives seem to help in the short term, it is clear that in the long term more needs to be done to improve the income of those suffering food inequalities. Poor environmental conditions contribute greatly to poverty in Scotland. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2011) suggests that a healthy home creates a healthy mind and body. Living in cold and damp housing contributes to a number of different physical illnesses, particularly respiratory diseases (Housing and Health Inequalities, 2016). Living in sub-par could cause further problems within the already vulnerable groups in society – disabled, children and older people (Housing and Health Inequalities, 2016). To tackle this, the Government introduced the ‘Affordable Housing Supply Programme’ (Scottish Government, 2019). This programme aims to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes in Scotland by 2021 (Scottish Government, 2019). Although Scottish healthcare is free, access to NHS services is a contributing factor to the extent of a problem that poverty is in Scotland. This in particular stems from the area the patient lives. GP practices play the biggest role in providing accessible medical care. However, Audit Scotland (2012) suggests that GPs working in the most deprived areas in Scotland are supported the least. They often see patients who have multiple health conditions who receive the same length of appointment as people in less deprived areas. Therefore, GPs often run late, rush appointments and the patients end up feeling frustrated. This in turn can make patients hesitant to contact the Doctor if they need medical assistance, leading to further health problems down the line. Although there are clear interlinks between GPs being stretched too thin and poor access to the facilities, Audit Scotland (2012) states that the number of practicing GPs is highest in the top 2 most deprived areas in Scotland. If almost 2200 GPs work in these areas, and accessibility is still so poor the Scottish Government need to look into the contributing factors that create the significant health problems in these areas. It is clear that health inequalities in Scotland contributes greatly to the poverty problem in Scotland. Whether it is due to food inequalities, insufficient housing or limited GP access, there are apparent problems that should be tackled.
In Scotland, one in four children live in poverty (Health Scotland, 2019). There are a number of contributing factors as to why children live in poverty. Examples of the factors are, low parental earnings and job opportunities as well as increasingly high housing and living costs (Health Scotland, 2018). Poverty impacts on children in numerous ways, however the most detrimental effects are the impacts on childhood development, education, and opportunity. The Child Poverty Action Group (2020) reports if children have lived in poverty for the first seven years of their life will have a 20% lower cognitive development score than children who have never faced poverty. Children living in poverty also live with stigma. Child Poverty Action Group (2020) states that children feel worried about their parents and are often judged by their peers. The impact that poverty has on the development of children, socially and mentally demonstrates the further effects poverty has in Scotland. Health Scotland (2019) states that children living in deprived areas do worse in Curriculum for Excellence and often in basic literacy, numeracy and writing skills. Although it is clear that yearly more children from deprived backgrounds do well in school, there is still a persistent attainment gap between the most and least deprived areas (Health Scotland, 2019). A lacking in opportunities appears to be due to families being stuck in a poverty cycle. They see their parents struggling, perhaps take up a part time job to help out and then schoolwork is substituted for work to help pay bills. Therefore, a lack qualifications and ultimately lack opportunity. However, it is not only educational opportunity that children miss out on, but also socially. Children may feel embarrassed because they do not have new items of clothing that everyone else has. Adelman, L., Middleton, S., Ashworth, K., (2003) found that 24% of the poorest children go without new clothes and properly fitted shoes. In order to combat this the Scottish Government introduced the Fairer Scotland Action Plan (2016). The Scottish Government has set out four income-based targets as a guideline as to what child poverty levels should be by 2030 (Scottish Government, 2017). The four targets are that less than 10% of children should be living in relative poverty, less than 5% in absolute poverty, less than 5% of children in joint low income and material deprivation and less than 5% of children living in persistent poverty (Child Poverty Bill, 2017). In order to do this, the Government publish yearly plans on how child poverty is tackled, along with working alongside local health boards and councils who are to report yearly on their work to reduce child poverty. This suggests that the Government in Scotland and are making efforts to combat poverty. The extent of the problems caused to children by poverty are extent. This essay only looked at a handful of the factors that contribute to the impact of poverty, however it has demonstrated that over the year’s children have been failed.
To conclude, it is clear that poverty in Scotland is a major issue. This essay has discussed several arguments as to what contributes to the problem such as, gender discrimination, health inequalities and the inequalities that children face every day. These issues are not new problems. They have been a prevalent in society for decades. Although the Scottish Government is taking strides to implement changes with the Fair Food Transformation Fund and the Child Poverty Bill, it is clear that more needs to be done. The three issues discussed in this essay are not the only factors that explain the extent of the problem that poverty is in Scotland. Ethnic discriminations, educational inequalities, a lack of employment, to name a few, are issues that are just as important and also need to be addressed.