Social Inequality in the Uk Flashcards
Who is responsible for dealing with social problems? (20)
Main Points
- Provides equality vs Encourages a nanny state
- Government is best suited to helping vs Big government is less suitable
- Times of Crisis require collectivism vs Growing Welfare costs is unsustainable
Provides equality vs Encourages a nanny state
PEELREEL
P- Collectivist believe that it provides equality
E- By having benefits in place from the gov everyone has support to succeed
E- SNP introduced free tuition scheme in Scotland in 2008 for Unis
R- Individualists believe collectivism will encourage a nanny state
E- They believe the collectivist response leads to growth of dependency on the government
E- In Scotland Free prescriptions wastage costs £500,000
Government is best suited to helping vs Big government is less suitable
PEELREEL
P- Collectivists believe the government is best suited to helping
E- No one individual is suitable to meet the needs of society except the government and its resources
E- Estimated that the UK gov and devolved powers pay £200 billion on healthcare
R- Individualists believe a big government is less suitable
E- Gov is less suited to helping those in society and communities should help via means such as donating
E- Cameron’s big society in 2013 focused on communities almost replaced the role of gov to those who needs
Times of Crisis require collectivism vs Growing Welfare costs is unsustainable
PEELREEL
P- Collectivists believe times of crisis require collectivism
E- individualism will not work in crisis because people will not work together
E- This was demonstrated through the covid-19 furlough scheme which asked employers to contribute to furlough employees wages
R- Individualists believe growing welfare is unsustainable
E- People are living longer which means gov is paying for more people meaning taxes are being raised
E- In 2021 the UK gov announced a rise in taxes - something Boris promised he wouldn’t do
Responses to wealth inequalities? (20)
Main Points
- National living wage
- Free tuition
- Universal free school meals
National Living wage
PEELREEL
P- NLW is effective
E- Provides a lot of money as a base pay per hour for those over 23, stopping underpaid workers
E- 2021 it was changed to over 23’s and in 2023 in the NlW reached over £10
R- NLW ineffective
E- Does not apply to under 23’s so can help cause further inequalities
E- NMW in 2023 for 18-20’s was £7.49 while the NLW is £10.42
Free Tuition
PEELREEL
P- Free tuition in Scotland is effective
E- Students in Scotland have the lowest levels of student debt
E- 2021 the average outstanding student loan debt in England was £45,000 roughly and the Scot was £14,000 roughly
R- Free tuition in Scotland is ineffective
E- Less spots are available due to free tuition as they need money so spots go to smarter often more well-off students
E- 2021, 14.4% of Scottish students are from the poorest areas the lowest since 2016, from the least deprived 28.8%
Universal Free School Meals
PEELREEL
P- Free School meals are effective
E- Removes cost on families so they do not have to pay for school meals
E- Rolled out to P4 and 5 in
2021/2022: 90,000 pupils able to
get free school meals.
R- Free school meals are ineffective
E- Does nothing to balance inequities as it is universal
E- Scot Gov estimated that the policy will save on average, £380 per year
Causes of wealth inequalities (20)
Main Points
- Unemployment & low paying jobs
- Education & Geography
- Gender & Age
Unemployment & low paying jobs
PEELREEL
P- Unemployment
E- No sustainable income to maintain and pay for a standard of living
E- September 2023 the unemployment rate in the UK was 4.3%
R- Low Paying jobs
E- Some jobs do not pay enough to allow employees to live off driving them into poverty
E- 14.4 million people are in poverty but only 1.44 million are unemployed in the UK in Oct 2023
C- More people in poverty because of low wages so it’s more important
Education & Geography
PEELREEL
P- Geography
E- Richer backgrounds tend to do better and better education facilities + better education means better jobs
E- Between 2018 and 19 just over 10% in poverty had a degree or above and 40% had no qualifications
R- Geography
E- Certain areas have better jobs and education and more job opportunities
E- Urban based communities are more likely to have higher concentrations of well paid job opportunities like law, finance and marketing sectors
C- Certain areas get better education so geography more important
Gender & Age
PEELREEL
P- Gender
E- Women are more likely due to glass ceiling and female stereotypes stopping the, achieving highest jobs
E- 2016 full time self-employed men earned £120 a week more than women
R- Age
E- Young people are more likely as they have less experience in work so harder to find jobs than older
E- 2015 relative poverty rate for all was around 23%, children 30%
C- Modern day society more women are breaking stereotypes even though it is still a problem
Health Inequalities Responses
Main Points
- Scottish, Free Prescriptions
- Scottish, Minimum Unit Pricing
- UK, Plain Cigarettes Packaging
Scottish, Free Prescriptions
PEELREEL
P- Effective
E- Prescription charges abolished to remove barriers to health care, reduce hospital no
E- Scotland’s 14 health boards spent more than £57 million on free paracetamol between 2011 and 2022
R- Ineffective
E- Still inequality as didn’t have intended effect and didn’t improve health conditions in scotland compared to England
E- 2020-2022, England life expectancy men 78.8 years & women 82.8 years while Scotland men years 76.5 & women 80.7 years
Scottish, Minimum Unit Pricing
PEELREEL
P- Effective
E- May 2018 ensured no alcohol sold for less than 50p per unit, made it harder for alcoholics to buy large quantities if poor, reducing
E- 2023 Min Un Pric saw alcohol related deaths drop by 13.4% and hospital admissions by 4.1%
R- Ineffective
E- Targeting wrong alcohol inequality and so unsuccessful
E- Scottish Health Survey 2018 it found 18% of people in deprived areas drink above weekly low risk guide to 27% of most affluent areas
