This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Third Social Justice Annual Report
18/11/2002
The Executive's third Social Justice annual report was
launched in Glasgow today.
Social Justice Minister Margaret Curran said that, in line
with the committment to eradicate child poverty within a
generation, £31 million was to be spent over the next three
years on initiatives that help families find their way out of
the poverty trap.
Ms Curran said:
"In September I announced £20 million to help make sure that
childcare is available for people living in disadvantaged
areas, to help them get into training and employment.
"Now the Social Justice budget has been boosted by a further
£31 million over the next three years. I will use this money to
develop other initiatives to find routes out of poverty and to
promote the social economy and new investment in deprived
areas"
Details of how the money will be spent will be announced at
a later date.
The 2002 social justice annual report reveals that
- the proportion of children living in a household where
no-one is in work has fallen from 19 per cent in 1997 to 14
per cent
- the employment rate for lone parents is now at 56 per
cent which is an increase of 14 per cent since 1997
- the proportion of older people living in low income
households has fallen from 28 per cent in 1996/97 to 24 per
cent in relative terms and has halved in absolute
terms
- Mortality rates from coronary heart disease for people
aged 65 to 74 have fallen by 16% since 1999
Ms Curran went on:
"I am proud of our record on social justice and many of the
indicators outlined in this report demonstrate that our
policies are working. It is important to remember that poverty
is not just about low income, it is about closing the
opportunity gap.
"This is why the Scottish budget concentrates our resources
on tackling poor quality housing, homelessness, ill health,
educational attainment, access to training and employment and
deprived communities."
Child Poverty in Social Inclusion Partnerships was also
published today by the Scottish Executive. This research
reports on comparisons between child income poverty in social
inclusion partnership areas and elsewhere in Scotland.