Social Inclusion - Opening the door to a better Scotland

3. Promoting inclusion: the Government's approach

Aims

3.1 The Government believes that everyone has a right to participate fully in society, and to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. No democratic society should tolerate the misery and divisions which social exclusion represents. No democratic society should permit the development of conditions in which alienation, racism and violent disorder can flourish. Moreover, in an increasingly global economy, economic competitiveness and the ability to thrive depends on the extent to which the full human resources of Scotland can be mobilised and maximised. The Government believes, therefore, that action must be taken to achieve true equality of opportunity.

3.2 In developing the social inclusion strategy, the Government and the Scottish Social Inclusion Network agreed a 'vision' of social inclusion in Scotland. The vision is of a Scotland in which:

every child, whatever his or her social or economic background, has the best possible start in life there are opportunities to work for all those who are able to do so those who are unable to work or are beyond the normal working age have a decent quality of life everyone is enabled and encouraged to participate to the maximum of their potential

3.3 If this vision is to be achieved, it will be necessary, in particular:

to increase participation in the labour market to tackle poverty through both national and local action to ensure that every child entering primary school is ready to learn and to make best use of their school years to reduce, if possible to zero, the number of children who leave school unqualified or ill-equipped to cope with life to widen participation in and demand for lifelong learning to tackle specific barriers to participation individuals face, including ill health, low self-esteem, homelessness and drug misuse to eliminate discrimination and inequality on the grounds of gender, race or disability to reduce inequalities in health to ensure that decent and affordable housing is available to everyone to tackle inequalities between communities by empowering and regenerating deprived communities to support and encourage the contribution of business to the well-being of communities to promote a culture of active citizenship, in which self-development, participation in community and civic life and caring for our disadvantaged neighbours are key features

3.4 This is the vision which will inform the continuing work of the Scottish Social Inclusion Network in taking forward the social inclusion strategy, described in section 8 and in the accompanying document. The remainder of this section sets out the principles the Government believes should underlie action in pursuit of this vision.

Principles

3.5 The Government's approach to promoting social inclusion is founded on 5 key principles:

integration prevention understanding inclusiveness empowerment

3.6 Social exclusion is a multi-dimensional problem which requires a multi-dimensional response. Programmes which tackle unemployment, low educational achievement, poverty, poor health or bad housing are important in their own right, but attention must be paid to their collective effect - in other words, whether and how they 'join-up'. By far the best way to assess how well-integrated policies and programmes are is to look at them from the perspective of the individual, the family, the neighbourhood or the community which are affected by those policies and programmes - it is at these levels, after all, that the desired effect will be achieved - or not. The Government therefore considers integration to be a key principle of an effective approach to promoting inclusion. Different agencies and services must, as far as possible, work together as if they were one organisation, driven by the needs of clients; and their programmes must be designed to contribute to an effective, integrated effort. To allow effective integration, programmes must be developed within a policy framework which encompasses all the main aspects of social exclusion, and understands the links between them.

3.7 A further key principle is prevention. The Government has provided substantial resources to support programmes tackling the immediate problems of exclusion that many face, such as homelessness. But in the longer term it is clearly preferable to seek to prevent such problems arising in the first place. This requires a focus on children and young people, on the early identification of potential problems, and on effective action to tackle them.

3.8 Action to promote social inclusion must be based on a sound understanding of 'what works', harnessing the experience developed through a range of local projects, programmes and initiatives in Scotland over many years. The success or otherwise of programmes aimed at promoting inclusion should be rigorously evaluated, to ensure that future action can be built on past experience. An appropriate research base should be developed, to inform the development of policies and programmes. Government should then help to disseminate this understanding between local practitioners, to increase agencies' collective capacity to promote inclusion. In addition to learning from the past, promising new ideas and approaches should be encouraged and supported - and then, of course, be subjected to the same rigorous evaluation.

3.9 The Government is committed to inclusiveness in the development of policies and programmes, and has sought to express this commitment in taking forward its agenda on social inclusion. The Government fully recognises the importance of the contributions that local authorities, other public agencies and the voluntary and community sectors have to make, both in developing policies and programmes and in implementing them, and is committed to working with them. This commitment is reflected in the ongoing work of the Scottish Social Inclusion Network, described in section 8.

3.10 It is also recognised that action by national and local agencies is unlikely to be fully effective without the support and commitment of community and voluntary groups. Government and other public agencies therefore need to increase their capacity to take a 'people-first' view of what people and communities need, and to engage with community and voluntary groups in developing policies and taking action forward.

3.11 This leads to a broader principle underlying the Government's approach to promoting inclusion: that of empowerment. The benefits of action to promote inclusion will only be sustainable if they enable individuals and communities to take up new opportunities, and to take control of their own situations. Action to lessen the immediate effects of social exclusion has a role to play - indeed, where individuals are not able to support themselves, it is imperative that such action is taken. However, a long-term difference will be most likely if action is based on the principle of handing over power to individuals and communities.

3.12 Following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament later this year, action to promote social inclusion in Scotland will include both action taken within the powers devolved to the Parliament - including education, housing and area regeneration - and action taken within those powers which have been reserved to Westminster, and which is taken forward on a UK-wide basis. This will include areas of policy particularly relevant to poverty issues, including welfare reform and pensions. Action taken under the Scottish Parliament should be effectively integrated with action taken at a United Kingdom level; and it will be necessary to ensure that a proper Scottish perspective informs the development of United Kingdom policy. There will also be a need to make the most of the potential of the Scottish Parliament to develop and take forward new ideas and new action, aimed at finding Scottish solutions to distinctively Scottish problems.

Action

3.13 The remainder of this document sets out the Government's programme of action to promote social inclusion. The programme is based on 4 fundamental strands of action:

Promoting opportunities: action to increase the opportunities available to people to take part in work, in learning, and in society more generally, is described in section 4. Tackling barriers to inclusion: action to tackle the specific problems of exclusion particular groups face, and to break down the barriers which currently prevent people from participating fully in society, is described in section 5. Promoting inclusion among children and young people: action to improve the long-term prospects of the next generation is described in section 6. Building strong communities: action to strengthen community life and to regenerate and empower deprived communities is described in section 7.