We can do it 非不能也 實不為也 -Multi Interventions towards eradicating child poverty多元介入兒童貧窮問題

Lilian LawAssistant Director (Strategy & Development)Oct 17, 2005

The Study visit was arranged for senior practitioners of the social welfare sectors to learn from UK and EU the regional, national and district level strategies/policies and programmes that combat poverty, focusing especially on preventing inter-generational poverty, assistance to those with working abilities and retirement protection for the elderly.

The UK experience in tackling child poverty was impressive. The experiences of which would shed light to groups who decide to devote their efforts in combating child poverty.

This presentation serves as a discussion paper between you and the delegation and we are looking forward to hearing your feedback.

June Visit on Poverty Eradication

The UK approach

Combating Child poverty

Child poverty rates in UK

Until the late 1990s, UK had one of the highest child poverty rates in the OECD(>25%).

In 1998/99, a government commitment, at the highest levels, to halving child poverty by 2010 & eliminating it by 2020

By 2004/05, the interim target of 25% reduction is likely to be matched

The result

Pre-tax and transfer Post-tax and transfer1984 1995 Change in

% points1984 1995 Change in

% pointsReduction in 1994

(in % points)

23.9 32.8 8.9 10.4 18.6 8.2 14.2Source: Oxley et al (2001), Table 15.9

All children Lone parent Two parentsNot Working Working No worker One worker Two workers

18.6 69.4 26.3 50.1 19.3 3.3Source: Oxley et al (2001), Table 15.5

Child Poverty - DefinitionChildren living in families which have a disposal income below 60 % of median income level

3 measurements:(1) “Backstop” - Absolute low income measured by income alone

(2) Relative low income (to indicate the progress in increasing the living standards of the poor relative to the typical individuals): measured by income alone

(3) Material deprivationssupplement these measure with direct indicators of the lack of particular goods and services measured from individual responses to survey questions on having and being bale to afford a short list of items11 for adults and nine for children – and a relative income of less than 70% of the median.

Child Poverty - measurementsMaterial deprivationsThese direct indicators of deprivation refer to quality of housing, clothing and social engagement.

i) Adult deprivation: whether families have or are able to afford adequate housing, certain social activities, some assets and adequate clothing

ii) Child deprivation: social activities and enough bedroom for every children

social activities include: a one week family holiday from home every yearswimming at least once a month,a hobby or leisure activity, friends visiting every once every 2 weeks,leisure equipment, celebration on special occasions,play group activities at least once a week for pre-school age children,a school trip at least once a term for school aged children

Intervention strategies

                                         

  

Year Policy initiatives 1998

• National Childcare Strategy• Quality Protects (QP) initiative• Crime and Disorder Act (youth justice measures)• Guidance on the Education of Looked After Children• Supporting Families: A Consultation Document

1999• Beveridge Lecture: pledge to abolish child poverty

within 20 years, via• National Minimum Wage, • Working Families Tax Credit, • Child Care Tax Credit, • Tax Credit for Families with Children.• Protection of Children Act• Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act• Sure Start Programme

Intervention strategies

                                         

  

Year Policy initiatives 2000

Cabinet Committee on Children and Young People’s Services

Children (Leaving Care) Act Care Standards Act Carers and Disabled Children Act Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need

and Their Families2001

Special Educational Needs and Disability Act Connexions Service

2002 Adoption and Children Act2003

Minister for Children and Young People Green Paper on Children at Risk Children’s Trusts Child Trust Funds Children’s Bill Children’s Commissioner for England (from 2004)

Intervention strategies

                                         

  

1. Boost income of families who work - get more to work; child benefit used to link with those who work.

2. Redistribute the resources through tax system – the effort is not through social security system but through inventing new tax credits. Such policy is directly under the Treasury. The negative taxation implies not more spending from government but but rather reduction of tax people pay

3. Improve capacity of children - better

accessibility of services, quality childcare and basic education.

poverty

International comparison

Child Poverty rates

The Child Poverty League

The bars show the percentage of children living in ‘relative’ poverty, defined as households with income below 50 percent of the national median income

Source: UNICEF, Child Poverty in Rich

Countries,2005

Dynamics of children povertyChild poverty rates using different poverty lines

The table shows the variation in the child poverty rate when the definition of poverty is set at different levels in relation to average income.

Dark blue denotes the best performing countries, mid-blue the average performers and light blue the worst. The countries are selected according to the availability of data.

Reducing & Eradicating Poverty

Determinants of child poverty

Poverty levels are determined by some combination of these three forces

– Social trends or Social and family changes : rising average age of parents , rising average educational level, lowering average number of children per family

(affect economic resources available to children) rising number of single parenthood

– Labour market conditions:▲ volatile by Economic fluctuation▲ migration of low-skill low-pay jobs,▲ increasing premium on knowledge and adaptability▲ globalization

– government policies – taxes and transfer

Determinants of poverty

• Social & families changes• Changes in Labour market• Changes in policies and spending priorities of government

Determinants of child poverty

CHILD

SOCIA

L AND F

AMIL

IES

CHANG

ESlowering average number of children per family

rising average educational level

rising average age of parents

POLICIES AND PRIORITIES CHANGES

LABOUR M

ARKET CH

ANGES

Job opportunities

Minimum Wage

Employment training for parents

Job Stability

TAX

Child poverty proof

policies

Quality child care

Service provisions

Child trust fundChild Incom

e

credit

rising number of single parenthood

Tax & transfers

table on p.21

The light blue bas show child poverty rates based on household incomes before government taxes and transfers while the dark blue bars show the rates after taxes and transfers. The poverty line in both cases is 50 per cent of median post-tax and transfer income.

Taxes and transfer

                                         

  

What is it?

Countries redistributing a higher percentage of the national income will have a more equal income distribution

Why not• Exaggerate the effects of income support

What need further

•Support to improve family security – family allowances, disability and sickness benefits, formal day care provision, unemployment insurance, employment promotion, and other forms of social assistance.

Advocacy effortsPolicies and Tax & Transfer - all parties to commit to eradicate child

poverty

- Poverty proof policies – make each consistent with eradicating child poverty

- Extend Child benefit to pregnant women

- Link the child element in tax credits and benefits to average incomes or prices, whichever is rising more quickly

- Reform the Social Fund and provide grants for essential items and at times of key transition

- reform education funding formulae at local and national level to give greater weighting to poor children

Work related measures - ensure the National Minimum Wage provides a living wage

-work towards better jobs, not just more jobs

Social and Families support-Take action, including extending the ten year childcare strategy to help groups facing multiple barriers to work, including minority ethnic groups, disabled parents and parent of disabled children

- Ensure that all children, regardless of immigration status, qualify for benefits and inclusion in mains stream services

-Raise child benefit and pay an equal rate to all children, whether first born or not

- introduce free at the point of delivery, good quality universal childcare

Implications For Hong Kong

Child Poverty rates in Hong Kong

Remark: Low-income households refer to those domestic households with monthly household income less than or equal to half of the median monthly domestic household income of the corresponding household size.Source: General Household Survey

11.2

15

18.1 18.3 18 18.317.1

22.8

26.2 25.9 25.5 26.1

11

16.7

21.6

24.7 25

18.6

1112131415161718192021222324252627

1991 1996 1998 2000 2002 2005

%

overall poverty rate children poverty rateyouth poverty rate

Towards eradication of child poverty

                                         

  

Eradicate a problem that could be measured

• Develop a simple, agreeable and measurable definition of Child poverty

A workable definition of poverty will always be related to time and place.

For some countries, child poverty will refer to “children living in poverty experience deprivation of the material, spiritual and emotional resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, leaving them unable to enjoy their rights, to achieve their full potential or participate as full and equal members of society.”

“People are living in poverty if their income and resources are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of loving which is regarded as acceptable Irish generally”

By Nation Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS), Ireland

Child poverty -

Definition of child povertyCountries Definitions of Child Poverty Measurements / Indicators

EU Children living in families which have an income below 60% of the country specific median income.

-individual income to measure the material living standards -draw the line between the poor and non-poor at 60% of the country specific median income.

Finland Children living in families which have an income below 60% of the country specific median income.

-individual income to measure the material living standards - draw the line between the poor and non-poor at 　 60% of the country specific median income.

United States

Children living in families which do not have an income above three times the cost of “Thrifty Food Budget” diet to allow for the purchase of all other goods

- by the purchasing power of the individuals on a set of defined goods

Germany ‘Relative’ child poverty is defined as children living in families which have an income which is below 50 % of the prevailing median income.

- by the disposal income - the total money income available to the household after taxes and social transfers

Definition of child povertyCountries Definitions of Child Poverty Measurements / IndicatorsCanada Children living in families which do

not have an income higher than the cost of a defined basket of goods

- by ‘community standards’ of expenditure, a specific basket of goods including: food, clothing and footwear, shelter, transportation, and other household needs.

Ireland Relative income poverty is defined as children living in families which have an income below 60 % of median equivalised household income level Consistent Child Poverty is defined as children who experience relative income poverty and are lack of one or more items on a basic deprivation index

2 measurements:(1) Relative income poverty: it is measured by income alone(2) Consistent Child Poverty: it measured by both income and the purchasing power of items on a basic deprivation index

- the deprivation indicators for consistent poverty are enforced lack of:One substantial meal each dayChicken, meat, fish, or its equivalent every second dayA ‘roast’ of its equivalent once a weekTwo pairs of strong shoesA warm, waterproof coatNew, rather than second-hand clothesHome heating-Being able to pay everyday household expenses without falling into debt

Definition of child poverty

These could be useful reference for coming up with a useful set of indicators for Hong Kong to come up with a clear understanding of what poverty means and how it should be measured. A good set of indicators could

1. avoid unnecessary complexity2. measure material deprivation directly3. draw poverty lines with regard to social norms4. establish a regular monitoring system (all indicators need to be

updated)5. set both a backstop and a target (make a commitment that under

no circumstances will that rate be allowed to increase. The backstop poverty line should be updated only for inflation.

6. offer leadership and build public support for poverty reduction

Determinants of child poverty

Poverty levels are determined by some combination of these three forces

– Social trends or Social and family changes : rising average age of parents , rising average educational level, lowering average number of children per family (affect economic resources available to children) rising number of single parenthood

- Labour market conditions, and

- government policies – taxes and transfer

Determinants of poverty

• Social & families changes• Changes in Labour market• Changes in policies and spending priorities of government

Population PyramidPopulation Pyramid

Social & families changes

Children population size continues to shrink –For every 10 residents, we have less than 2 kids

Population groups by age

Yr\Age 0 – 14 15 – 64 65 + Total

1971 1 452 100 2 410 900 182 300 4 045 300

1981 1 277 300 3 561 800 344 300 5 183 400

1991 1 198 700 4 050 900 502 400 5 752 000

2001 1 104 100 4 867 200 753 600 6 724 900

2011 1 006 900 5 601 100 919 600 7 527 600

2021 1 036 600 5 777 300 1 414 400 8 228 300

2031 1 017 900 5 583 600 2 120 000 8 721 500

0100000020000003000000400000050000006000000700000080000009000000

10000000

1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2021 20310%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%0 – 14

Total%

Social & families changes

Determinants of child poverty

Poverty levels are determined by some combination of these three forces

– Social trends or Social and family changes : rising average age of parents , rising average educational level, lowering average number of children per family (affect economic resources available to children) rising number of single parenthood

- Labour market conditions, and

- government policies – taxes and transfer

Determinants of poverty

• Social & families changes• Changes in Labour market• Changes in policies and spending priorities of government

Unemployment Trends

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Aug-05

Unemployment

Underemployment

Appendix:Useful websites

Useful websites

United Kingdom

Social Exclusion Unit www.socialexclusion.gov.ukECPC www.ecpc.org.ukCASEs Studies in Poverty, Place & Policy www.policypress.org.ukSure Start programme www.surestart.gov.ukChild Poverty Action Group www.cpag.org.ukJob Centre and Employment www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

European Union

EU www.europa.eu.intEurochild www.eurochildEuropean Antipoverty Network www.eapn.orgAged coalition www.age-platform.orgFamily Care for Aged www.ukc.uni-hamburg.de/exter/eurofamcare/

Thank you