Effectiveness of government responding to inequalities Flashcards
Background info
The Guardian has reported that the decade of austerity measures has broken Britain, arguing that the social inequalities created by such will scar Britain for the rest of our lives.
List of factors
This essay will look at government measures that have been introduced to tackle social inequalities in Scotland and the UK including Universal Credit, the National Living Wage, EMA, Free Tuitions, MUP and Baby Boxes.
Line of argument
This essay will argue that whilst these measures have had some success at tackling inequalities in Scotland and the UK, they have ultimately only been successful to a small extent and will introduce the importance of charitable organisations such as the Trussel Trust
Point one
The government would argue that the introduction of Universal Credit is successfully addressing poverty by getting people into work. I
Point one explain
This is the Conservative governments flagship benefits policy designed to give support to low-income citizens. If you are younger, you get less, if you are disabled you get a little more. You also get a little more if you have children. The benefit is given once a month, much like a salary and the individualist belief is if it is low enough then it will encourage people to get a job to earn their own way out of poverty. The UK Government would highlight that since the introduction of Universal Credit until the exception circumstances of the pandemic, that unemployment in the UK was historically low.
Point one example
Evidence that the policy has been effective could be the fact that according to Gov.UK, in 2011 before the roll out of universal credit, unemployment was 7.1% whereas it was just over 4% as of September 2023.
Point one analysis
This would suggest that individualistic policies such as Universal Credit were successful in encouraging people back into work. The belief here being that by tackling unemployment, poverty would be reduced. However, this has not been the case with the Trussel Trust arguing that there has been a 123% increase in the use of foodbanks in the UK since the introduction of UC.
Point two/rebuttal
Another policy that the government may argue is successful in tackling inequality is the National Living Wage.
Point two explain
This is the idea that being in work should mean that you can afford necessities needed to live a long and healthy life and ensure that all workers are paid a fair rate. The government have the NLW at £11.44. This places the responsibility into citizens to earn the wage that they need to look after themselves. The National Living Wage is a paid to all workers over the age of 21 and it also works in conjunction with the National Living Wage which is paid to all employees under the age of 21.
Point two example
It can clearly be argued that the National Minimum Wage & the National Living Wage are not that effective in decreasing the poverty rate as even with their introduction, the poverty rate still remains at 22%. The government have decided that the NLW is £11.44 however, the Living Wage Foundation states that the wage should be £12.60, this means that someone on the NLW will be over a £1,000 a year short of the RLW.
Point two analysis
This would suggest that the National Living Wage was unsuccessful at decreasing social inequalities as the poverty rate remains the same and the Real Living Wage Foundation states that receivers of the NMW are £1,000 a year short compared to if they were on the RLW.
Point two link
Overall, this shows that while both factors have had an impact on decreasing social inequalities, Universal Credit is a more successful factor as it has had a more tangible impact because it has decreased the unemployment rate compared to the National Living Wage which hasn’t had a significant impact on the poverty rate.
Point three
Further policies that have been introduced to tackle social inequalities includes Educational Maintenance allowance (EMA).
Point three explain
This is a government scheme where 16–19 year olds, who are below the poverty line who are also still in further education receive money in order to contribute to costs that arise with school such as buying supplies like pens, pencils and calculators. This is to help encourage people to continue with further education so that Scotland can have the highest amount of educated people as it can and also helps them to get a good, well-paying job after education so they can get out of poverty.
Point three example
For example, people on EMA receive £30 biweekly. In 2023, 15,135 young people across Scotland received EMA which meant that they had a higher chance of getting qualifications compared to if EMA did not exist.
Point three analysis
This means that people who receive EMA are more likely to do better with their qualifications compared to their counterparts who aren’t. However, in August 2024, TES founded that the attainment gap between the most affluent and least affluent schools in Scotland increased. This shows that EMA is not successful in tackling the problem alone.
Point four/rebuttal
However, many people may argue that Free Higher Tuition Fees in Scotland have been far more successful.
Point four explain
This isa government policy where Scottish citizens and other groups who meet certain requirements are allowed to attend university for free without having to worry about how much it costs. This scheme allows more people to access further education as it helps to remove some of the financial barriers associated with university. This allows Scotland to have the highest amount of educated citizens as it can.
Point four example
For example, people on EMA receive £30 biweekly. In 2023, 15,135 young people across Scotland received EMA which meant that they had a higher chance of getting qualifications compared to if EMA did not exist.
Point four analysis
This suggests that Free Tuition fees have had an impact in decreasing barriers and making access to further education more equal between those from the least deprived and most deprived areas of Scotland. However, FTF has been described as a ‘postcode lottery’ which means that not all young people have equal access across the U.K to attend further educational institutes.
Point four link
Overall, this shows that while both have had a positive impact on helping those who might not of had the opportunity to attend further education, free tuition fees is a more successful factor as it has had a bigger increase in closing the attainment gap compared to EMA.
Point five
A more recent example of a government response to inequalities in Scotland is the Scottish Governments introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing.
Point five explain
Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) is a government policy implemented in order to try and combat problematic alcohol consumption especially in the most deprived areas of the U.K. This sets the minimum price that alcohol can be sold for per unit at 65p. The government would argue that since it’s introduction, the health of the Scottish population has increased.
Point five example
This is illustrated by there being a 4.1% drop in hospital admissions and a 13.4% reduction in alcohol related death. However, an average of 40 Scots a week still die due to alcohol-related illnesses, with the most deprived members of society being the most affected.
