23.06.2014
The impact of welfare reform on local electoral wards in Scotland has been revealed today by research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee.
The study, undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, shows that the worst affected area in Scotland is the Calton ward in Glasgow. This area is hit nearly 5 times harder than the ward least affected by the welfare reforms – St Andrews in Fife. The study estimates £880 a year per adult of working age will be removed from the local economy in Calton, compared to £180 in St Andrews.
In all, more than a dozen Glasgow wards figure prominently among a list of worst affected places in Scotland. The research, undertaken by Professor Christina Beatty and Professor Steve Fothergill, demonstrates a clear relationship between the extent of deprivation and the scale of financial loss..
Committee Convener Michael McMahon MSP said:
“Evidence that we have received indicated that our poorest communities are being hit hardest by welfare reform but we had no statistics to back this up. Now we have before us the evidence that proves it, right down to the electoral ward. From the witnesses that have come before us, we have always known that welfare reform is having a disastrous effect on individuals. Now it looks as if this is true for whole communities - in Glasgow, Dundee, Fife, the lower Clyde and beyond.
“We’re sending this report on to all local authorities and the voluntary sector who will hopefully find it useful in planning their own responses to the difficult challenges welfare reforms are posing in their area.”
The research focussed on adults of working age as this is the group most affected by welfare reforms. It confirms that more than £1.6 billion a year will be taken out of the Scottish economy and that the reforms to incapacity benefits are resulting in the biggest financial losses. The Scottish average (£460 a year per adult of working age) is broadly on a par with the British average (£470), but the intensity of the hit in Glasgow and its large population mean that it is second to only Birmingham within Britain in terms of the overall scale of the loss - almost £260 million a year will be taken out of Glasgow when the reforms have come to full fruition.
Deputy Convener Jamie Hepburn MSP said:
“It is so depressing to see again in stark figures how the areas that most need support are those hardest hit by these reforms. Areas that already face challenges are simply having money sucked out of them. Even in areas like Edinburgh where the average loss is smaller, it equates to an estimated £130 million a year loss. This is money that should be supporting vulnerable people, and it should shame the UK Government to see this correlation between need and cuts.”
Professor Steve Fothergill will give evidence to the Committee in public on Tuesday 24 April. Speaking ahead of this he said:
“Scotland has not been singled out as the prime target for welfare reform. But as in the rest of Britain, the cumulative effect of the reforms is not only to hit some of the poorest individuals hardest but also to hit the poorest communities much harder than .the most affluent neighbourhoods”
The report notes that in most cases the Westminster Government has not produced estimates of the impact of the reforms by local authority, whilst this research drills down further into electoral wards. The authors of the report state “the impact on different places is also one of the yardsticks by which reforms should be judged.”
Commenting ahead of the Committee’s meeting on Tuesday and a further meeting on Thursday at which the Secretary of State Scotland Alasdair Carmichael MP will give evidence, Mr McMahon said:
“The UK Government cannot continue to refuse to engage on welfare reform. Not only do they refuse to undertake research like ours to assess the impact on people, but the relevant DWP Minister continuously refuses to talk to us on the record and in public. We can ask the Secretary of State for Scotland about the stark data our research has revealed on Thursday but it is Iain Duncan Smith MP who should be giving evidence, rather than hiding from the impacts of his department’s own policies. ”
The research details the impact of each part of welfare reform on every ward in Scotland by local authority. It is available on the Parliament’s website, including a downloadable pdf of each local authority area.
The 20 worst affected wards are:
Authority
|
Ward
|
Overall financial loss per adult of working age £ per year
|
Glasgow
|
Calton
|
880
|
Glasgow
|
Springburn
|
780
|
Glasgow
|
North East
|
750
|
Glasgow
|
Drumchapel/Anniesland
|
740
|
Glasgow
|
Southside Central
|
730
|
Dundee
|
East End
|
730
|
Glasgow
|
Shettleston
|
720
|
Fife
|
Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages
|
700
|
Glasgow
|
Canal
|
700
|
Inverclyde
|
Inverclyde East Central
|
690
|
Glasgow
|
Garscadden/Scotstounhill
|
690
|
Glasgow
|
Govan
|
690
|
Glasgow
|
Ballieston
|
680
|
Glasgow
|
East Centre
|
680
|
Dundee
|
North East
|
670
|
Fife
|
The Lochs
|
670
|
Glasgow
|
Linn
|
670
|
Renfrewshire
|
Paisley North West
|
660
|
Inverclyde
|
Inverclyde North
|
660
|
West Dunbartonshire
|
Clydebank Central
|
660
|
The full report is available on the Parliament’s website. Professor Steve Fothergill will give evidence on the report to the Committee on Tuesday 24 June at 10am in the Robert Burns Room (Committee Room 1).
This evidence session comes two days before the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alasdair Carmichael, gives evidence to the Committee: Thursday 26 June at 10am in Robert Burns Room (Committee Room 1).
Both will be webcast live on the Parliament’s website.
As a leading UK policy research centre, CRESR seeks to understand the impact of social and economic disadvantage on places and people, and assess critically the policies and interventions targeted at these issues. For more information, go to www.shu.ac.uk/cresr. For more information, please contact the Sheffield Hallam University press office. Direct line +44 (0)114 225 2811
Note:
- Working age adult is 16-64.
- Ward relates to Local Authority areas. There are 353 across Scotland, typically with a population of around 15,000 but tend to be larger in population terms in cities than in rural areas.