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What do we mean by Solidarity, Cohesion, Income Inequality and Poverty?
14. Income Inequality refers to the gap between the highest and lowest earning households. Income inequality can be reduced by lowering the income of the highest earners, or raising the income of the lowest earners. Reducing inequality does not necessarily lead to a reduction in poverty.
15. The Solidarity Golden Rule, as set out in the GES, is backed by a corresponding Purpose target - namely, "to increase overall income and the proportion of income earned by the three lowest income deciles as a group by 2017."
16. The 670,000 adults and 210,000 children who are in relative poverty in Scotland are all within the lowest two income deciles. Therefore increasing the incomes of households in each of the lowest three deciles should have a positive effect on tackling poverty and contribute to the achievement of the UK wide target to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
17. The Cohesion Golden Rule, as set out in the GES, is backed by a corresponding Purpose target aimed at "narrow[ing] the gap in participation between Scotland's best and worst performing regions by 2017". In Scotland 600,000 of the adult population are economically inactive and 285,000 are on Incapacity Benefit. Delivering on the Cohesion target involves continuing the work already started under the Workforce Plus employability framework - and narrowing the gap in economic activity between Scotland's best and worst performing regions. Reducing these geographical disparities is an important objective in promoting equity across different areas of Scotland and tackling the challenges of regenerating communities suffering from concentrated multiple deprivation.
18 . Poverty is technically defined as when a person's household income (adjusted for the size and composition of the household) is less than 60% of the UK median income. The Government also uses a measure to assess fuel poverty, based not only on income but also on fuel prices and the energy efficiency of homes.
19. This discussion paper is designed to inform the development of a framework for achieving the GES's Solidarity Golden Rule, contributing to the Cohesion Golden Rule, and articulating the links to other relevant aspects of the GES.
20. In seeking to reduce poverty and inequality we want to improve the wellbeing of people in Scotland. However we need to think about poverty more broadly than merely in terms of income. As well as having an adequate income tackling poverty involves ensuring that individuals and communities they live in have access to other key material and non-material resources such as education, health and housing. Breaking down the structural barriers to these opportunities is key to the task. It is also about ensuring that all individuals and communities have the capacity to access these resources and the opportunity to develop their potential - to equip people with the capabilities to maximise their life chances, as defined by their health, education and skills, physical environment, working status and so on.
21. In rural areas other factors may also contribute to poverty, such as lack of access to services and the fragility of remote communities. These can compound the effects of low income, educational achievement and poor health on life opportunities, and the capacity to seize them. There are also strong correlations between poverty and a lack of environmental sustainability.
22. In analysing poverty we must also recognise the importance that the issues experienced by men and women may be gender-specific and demand distinct approaches to be taken in addressing the needs of men and women. For example the vast majority of lone parents - a key group for tackling both adult and child poverty - are women, and this may suggest the need for a gendered approach to the interventions which are made for them.
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