A brief look at Make Poverty History, The UK Child Poverty Act and structural and cultural responses to poverty

1. “Solutions to Poverty”
Policies & Perspectives

2. Assessment Criteria
• Outline and critically evaluate different
explanations of social inequality and poverty.
• Outline and critically evaluate research
evidence relating to social inequality and
poverty.

3. MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
Nelson Mandela - 3rd February, 2005
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NennM
CLG7A

4. MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
• Urged the government and international
decision makers to make meaningful policy
change on three critical and inextricably linked
areas: trade, debt and aid.

5. Trade justice
• Fight for rules that ensure governments,
particularly in poor countries, can choose the
best solutions to end poverty and protect the
environment.
• End export subsidies that damage the
livelihoods of poor rural communities around
the world.
• Make laws that stop big business profiting at
the expense of people and the environment.

6. Drop the debt
• The unpayable debts of the world's poorest
countries should be cancelled in full, by fair
and transparent means.

7. More and better aid
• Donors must now deliver at least $50 billion
more in aid and set a binding timetable for
spending 0.7% of national income on aid.
• Aid must also be made to work more
effectively for poor people.

8. MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
• On January 31, 2006, the majority of the
members of the campaign passed a resolution
to disband the organisation
• The British coalition had only agreed to come
together formally for a limited lifespan, to
correspond with Britain holding the
presidency of the EU and G8.

9. Evaluation
• The relief is spread over some 40 years, amounting to
$1 billion per year; The net present value of the deal is
about $17 billion.
• It is tied with many economic conditions that have
caused poverty and debt misery in the first place;
• These conditions are undemocratically imposed by rich
countries and their institutions, and promote what has
historically been unequal trade;
• What countries get in debt relief, they will lose in
future aid. (Give with one hand, take with the other)
http://www.globalissues.org/article/541/g8summit-2005

10. Poem
• More Precious than Gold

11. More Precious than Gold
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayg8NriNE
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12. The Child Poverty Act 2010
• In March 2010 the Child Poverty Act was
passed, legally binding the government to a
commitment to eradicate child poverty in
Britain by 2020.
• For the first time ever, government and local
authorities have been set targets to end
childhood poverty for good.
[online]
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/9/contents

13. Child Poverty Act targets
The Act imposes a legal duty on current and
future governments to move towards four UKwide targets by 2020 as follows:
• Relative poverty – for less than 10% of
children to live in relative low income families.
• For the purposes of this target, low income is
defined as an equivalised net income below
60% of the UK median.
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/child-povertypromise-and-child-poverty-act

14. Combined low income and material
deprivation
• For less than 5% of children to live in material
deprivation and low income families.
• For the purposes of this target, low income is
defined as an equivalised net income below
70% of the UK median.

15. Absolute poverty
• …for less than 5% of children to live in
absolute low income families.
• For the purposes of this target, absolute low
income is defined as an equivalised net
income below 60% of an adjusted base
amount, with the base year being 2010/11.

16. Persistent poverty
• … for fewer children to live in relative poverty
for long periods of time, with the specific
target to be set at a later date.
• For the purposes of this target, a long period
is defined as three years or more

17. Child Poverty duties
• The Act also imposes a range of duties on local
authorities. They are obliged to undertake a child
poverty needs assessment and must co-operate
with partner agencies with a view to reducing
child poverty. These agencies include:
–
–
–
–
district councils
the police and criminal justice systems
transport authorities
health authorities
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/child-povertypromise-and-child-poverty-act

18. Current Situation
In 2011/12:
• 17% of children (2.3 million) were in
households in the UK with incomes below 60%
of contemporary median net disposable
household income before housing costs (BHC),
• 27% (3.5 million) after housing costs (AHC).

19. Historical Comparison
• Compared to 2010/11, this represents a fall of
0 percentage points (no change in numbers)
on a BHC basis and a fall of 0 percentage
points (no change in numbers) AHC.

20. Historical Comparison
• Compared to 1998/99, this represents a fall of
9 percentage points (1.1million) on a BHC
basis and a fall of 7 percentage points (0.9
million) AHC.
•
Dept for Work and Pensions [online]
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/households-below-average-incomehbai--2

21. Evaluation of Measurement
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJHYeFb
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• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo
/9856092/Government-child-poverty-targetsunincentivising-work-says-think-tank.html

22. So poverty still exists……
 A cultural explanation
blames the existence and
persistence of poverty on
the individual’s
culture/behaviour/way of
life.
 A structural explanation
blames the existence and
persistence of poverty on
wider society, or the
government
 Also known as:
 Also known as:
Right-wing explanations
‘Dependency’ explanations
 The New Right perspective
and the Culture of Poverty
theory agrees with this
view.
Left wing explanations
Societal explanations
 Marxists, Social Democrats
and the ‘cycle of
deprivation’ theory all
agree with this view.

23. Lewis (1968) – The Culture of Poverty Theory
• Studied a poor community in Mexico
• Found their way of life was keeping them in poverty
• Children were taught different norms and values from
mainstream society:
– ‘Fatalism’ – acceptance of their situation, rather trying to change it
– ‘Immediate gratification’ – spend any money they had immediately – did not
save up for the future or stay on at school.
• Therefore, poor children grew up to be poor adults, who then
brought up the next generation of poor children…

24. The New Right Perspective: Charles Murray
(1989)
• A political and sociological perspective
• Associated with ‘Thatcherism’ from the
1980s
• A ‘right wing’ approach:
– capitalism is the best way to run the
economy
– People should be allowed to make as
much money as they like
– The government should not interfere
– ‘Lazy’ people should not be dependent
on government benefits!

25. The Marxist View of Poverty
• Poverty is caused by capitalism
• Poverty is inevitable under capitalism
• The bourgeoisie pay the proletariat low wages in
order to maximise profit.
• The proletariat suffer from false consciousness,
thinking their wages are fair and reasonable.

26. The Social Democratic View of Poverty
• A political and sociological perspective
• Believes capitalism is acceptable with government
intervention
• Government should provide range of benefits for the
poor
• The rich should pay high taxes to help the poor
• Key sociologist: Frank Field (1989)

27. Field
• When Field’s theory was published in
late 1980s, New Labour pledged to
abolish the poverty trap.
• Field’s research focused on citizenship
and exclusion and that in recent history
certain groups had been excluded from
rights that citizens should enjoy
• These groups included the long term
unemployed, lone parents, pensioners

28. Field was concerned about..
• The increasing gap between rich and poor
• The increasing long term unemployed
• The stigmatisation and blaming of the poor for
their poverty rather than reflecting on wider
economic and social factors
• His solution to concentrate on a better
organised and comprehensive welfare state

29. Policies that resulted…
– Tax credits now exist
– Sure start provides some free nursery places for 34 year olds etc. etc. etc.
• However, Murray would say that Field ignores
the fact that there shouldn’t be lone parents
in the first place, and that some people just
don’t want a job.

30. The Functionalist Explanation of
Poverty
Herbert Gans (1971)
•
•
Poverty exists and persists because it is functional!
Poverty performs 13 functions – some for individuals and some
for society
Examples:
• Poverty creates jobs for the middle classes – police officers, social
workers etc.
• Poverty helps the economy - out-of-date food, last-season clothes
and old cars are all bought by the poor!
• Poverty ensures that all jobs are filled in society – the poor will take
up dull/dangerous/dirty jobs that no one else wants!

31. The Coalition’s Welfare Reform
White Paper published in November 2010:
• The current system is too complicated because
there are more than 50 different
benefits/payment schemes available
• Need to reduce the number of people on
benefits, especially the long-term unemployed.

32. The Coalition’s Welfare Reform
• To reform the benefit system & make “it fairer,
more affordable and better able to tackle
poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency”
the coalition introduced a introduced a new
benefit policy called universal credit.

33. Welfare Reform Act 2012
• The benefit cap will see couples and single
parents receive no more than £500 a week in
benefits.
• The limit for single people is £350, although
there are some exemptions.

34. Bedroom Tax
• Welfare reforms cut the amount of benefit
that people can get if they are deemed to
have a spare bedroom in their council or
housing association home.