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Closing the Opportunity Gap
Introduction
Scottish Ministers are committed to creating a prosperous, outward-looking, confident Scotland in which all citizens can contribute fully to and share in the rewards of that prosperity. The commitment is to opportunity and growth. That vision requires investment and action right across the Scottish Executive's programmes. Success depends upon many factors. But critical among these is the extent to which people and communities across Scotland can be freed from the barriers which limit their capabilities and capacity. We live in a society of significant wealth and prosperity for many but where, despite a major improvement in recent years, 21% of children still live in poverty in absolute terms. We live in a society where employment is increasing, where there is a record number of jobs in the economy but where people living in deprived areas are four times more likely to be unemployed than people in more prosperous areas; where there are unequal education and health outcomes for people depending on where they live; and where discrimination and disadvantage still affect the lives of women, people from minority ethnic communities, disabled people and people of different sexual orientation.
All of these factors serve to hold back Scotland's progress towards prosperity for all. They prevent many of our citizens, children and adults, from living their lives to their full potential and they constrain our capacity as a country to be the best that we can be. But none of these constraints is inevitable. Working with others, Ministers and the Executive can and will tackle these issues. We have committed ourselves to dismantling the obstacles that people face in their lives and by doing so, we will unlock the prosperity that is at the heart of our vision for Scotland.
This agenda is not new. From day one we have clearly signalled our intention to tackle social injustice and inequality. Our social inclusion strategy identified long-term targets and the actions that were required across the Executive to tackle poverty and exclusion; and our equality strategy set out a clear framework for tackling inequality in all its forms. Other initiatives across the whole range of the Executive's responsibilities have followed.
Over the last three years, a great deal has been achieved. Initially, a significant barrier was a lack of information about the nature of the problems that had to be tackled. Much progress has since been made in assembling that information and this has allowed Ministers to identify and prioritise problems and to develop policies to tackle those problems.
There has been significant action on a number of fronts. In 1997, 21% of children in Scotland were living in severe poverty. By 2001 this was down to 11% in absolute terms, so real progress is being made for our poorest children. We shall continue to work to close the gap for all children who are living in poverty today. A 24 million package of investment in childcare has allowed lone parents the opportunity to enter further and higher education when previously they would simply have been denied this opportunity. There is now a pre-school place for every 3 and 4 year old whose parents want it.
There has been significant investment of 12 million over four years in refuges for women and children who are fleeing domestic violence.
The proportion of pensioners living in low income households has fallen from 28% in 1996-97 to 24% in relative terms and 14% in absolute terms in 2000-01. More than 10,000 pensioners have had central heating systems installed in their houses at no cost and 140,000 people have been given free insulation under the Warm Deal scheme. Pensioners are now able to face cold winters without the worry of whether they can afford to keep themselves warm; and every pensioner in Scotland can now enjoy the benefits of free off-peak bus travel.
These are just some examples of investments that are making real differences to real lives. They are by no means the whole story. But the Scottish Budget for 2003-06 has presented the opportunity now to sharpen the attack on poverty, inequality and discrimination. Much good work has been done across the Executive, and armed with their experience of what has already been achieved, Ministerial portfolios have prepared plans for the future with a specific focus on action to tackle the opportunity gaps which people still face.
The Scottish Budget for 2003-06 is set out in Building a Better Scotland. The following chapters in this document set out the Executive's targets, within that budget, for closing the opportunity gap. These and the actions that will be taken to meet those targets are grouped by Ministerial portfolio. They are an important commitment by Ministers and the Executive, signalling clearly our intention to tackle, and close, the opportunity gap - in everything we do.
Our targets now include, for example:
- We will give our young people the best possible start in life, because no-one wants a country in which a child's future is decided before it is even born. We will concentrate our efforts in making sure that Scotland's health, education and care services focus their resources on those children and families who need the most support. By 2006 we will have helped at least 15,000 vulnerable children under 5, through programmes such as Sure Start Scotland.
- We will make our nation healthier. It cannot be right that men living in deprived areas are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as men living in our most affluent areas. By 2010 we want to achieve a 50% reduction in death from coronary heart disease in people under 75.
- We want our young people to realise their full potential through education and work. Over 50% of young people in Scotland now participate in further or higher education, but young people need jobs too. Our Modern Apprenticeship scheme has already proved very successful in helping young people into work and by 2006 we will increase the number of apprenticeships to over 25,000.
- We will tackle poverty and disadvantage wherever we find it. One of the most iniquitous features of modern Scotland is fuel poverty. Families cannot flourish in homes which are cold or damp and no Scots pensioner should have to choose between food and fuel. By 2006 we will reduce the number of households in fuel poverty by 30%.
Our success in tackling social injustice in recent years has been significantly attributable to our capacity to tackle complex, multi-faceted problems by working in partnership across Ministerial portfolios and, of course, with other organisations and sectors. The renewed attack on disadvantage, signalled by the commitment to close the opportunity gap, will build upon existing partnerships and partnership working. The Minister for Social Justice will exercise a specific co-ordinating role, working with Ministerial colleagues and others to assist them in developing and delivering from their own policy agendas and encouraging and facilitating joint working where appropriate. Administrative structures need not and will not stand in the way of delivering the changes that are required.
This is an ambitious agenda. Many of the obstacles which people face are deep-seated and complex. But that is not an excuse for shirking responsibility.
Ministers are absolutely committed to serving everybody in Scotland - to giving everybody the chance to fulfil their potential. That is what is meant by closing the opportunity gap. The following chapters show in practical detail what will be done.
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