In this
edition, we are featuring an article by Martin Johnstone, Secretary of Poverty
Truth Commission, Glasgow published in Third Force News.
I AM pleased that Iain Duncan Smith, the secretary
of state for work and pensions, has finally met with MSPs to consider the UK
Government’s welfare cuts. With, for example, an estimated 105,000 working age
families in Scotland affected by the change to housing benefit, it is about
time that he started answering to the Scottish people.
I am deeply disappointed in the Secretary of State
not only for the apparent arrogance with which he has chosen to treat the
Scottish Parliament but also because he is refusing to listen. I remember being
impressed when he visited Easterhouse a decade ago and really seemed to have
begun to understand. He understood because he chose to listen to those at the
sharp end. Today, he is refusing to listen.
Last week I took part in the second of a series of
conversations being hosted by the Poverty Truth Commission (www.povertytruthcommission.org)
bringing together some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged citizens and some of
our country’s most influential leaders. At the centre of our conversation was
the harrowing experience of a mother struggling to make ends meet in the midst
of relentless hardship. It is a life of childhood abuse and violence, constant
ill health, courage, determination and resilience. I admit, I wept and I was
not alone.
As a Commission we have written to Iain Duncan
Smith and to George Osborne on a number of occasions inviting them to meet with
those at the sharp end. Mostly they haven’t replied to our letters – and when
they have, they have pointed out just how busy they are. If you are so busy
changing the way that our welfare system works, surely you can’t be too busy to
listen directly to those who experience it.
The message of the Poverty Truth Commission is
simple: to achieve the long-term strategic eradication of poverty we must
enable those with experience of poverty to be at the decision making table.
They are the real experts and there must be meaningful engagement and
conversation between them and key decision makers. We are guided by the
principle, learned in the anti-apartheid struggle that “Nothing About Us
Without Us is for Us.”
A regular theme within our work is the lack of
understanding of those in poverty by the decision makers and the media. The
rhetoric found in the media, fuelled by politicians of a variety of different
persuasions, is frequently toxic and it does not resonate at all with the many
people that I meet who want better lives for themselves and for their families.
When we separate society into deserving and undeserving, strivers and skivers,
the hard working and the lazy we are missing out on the very insights which could
actually help us to change things for the better. Poverty is not a lifestyle
choice, nor is it the result of individual moral failing.
Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept which traps
people, impacting on their lives in almost countless ways. Economic statistics
do not tell half the story of the mentally draining and potentially
soul-destroying nature of poverty. Along with others, the Commission is
therefore seeking a fundamental change in public perceptions of poverty, as
well as changes to the way in which decisions are made and public services are
provided.
Many of our commissioners have long told us of the
struggles they face interacting with frontline services. The difficult
decisions geared towards saving the state money are being made by frontline
staff and this pressure often creates a confrontational attitude. Many have
spoken of how they are treated as guilty until they can finally prove that they
are innocent. They speak of having to perform degrading and very painful
physical tasks to prove they qualify for disability benefit. Speaking on Sunday
afternoon in the first of a series of three events that we are hosting in the
Glad Café (www.thegladecafe.co.uk) on the Welfare Cuts, one of our
Commissioners spoke of how the cruel treatment she received when in poverty has
stuck with her and will remain with her.
The Poverty Truth Commission is part of Faith in
Community Scotland. As an organisation we are actively engaged in supporting
local faith groups to build awareness of the impact for people in the poorest
communities, as well as enabling them to explore appropriate responses to
address the challenges.
We have circulated 6000 leaflets to faith groups
across Glasgow and Dundee highlighting some of the key changes and have also
hosted some training and discussion opportunities for local groups. In all of
this, we are striving to work with other organisations and seeking to ensure
that real, lived experiences inform what we are doing.
People’s concerns include: an increase in food
poverty and debt, an increase in poor mental health, a decrease in the ability
to access support services and the further disintegration of society as a
result of increased family breakdowns, domestic violence, isolation and
bullying. I hope that the Secretary of State is listening.
However, it is not enough to curse the darkness or
to blame others whilst doing nothing. And we are also struck by the creative
ways that local groups and local people are responding to this crisis. Cranhill
Development Trust, in partnership with Greater Easterhouse Money Advice
Matters, is supporting local people to become mentors to encourage others in
their community to develop key coping skills, e.g. managing a budget. In the
Gorbals, Bridging the Gap is developing Mind over Money, a programme to help
people grasp the impact of marketing and consumerism on their spending and how
these influence our perceptions of what it is we need to be happy.
Our aim is to keep on inviting Mr Iain Duncan Smith
to listen, to keep on seeking to ensure that the real story is told and, in the
meantime, to do our little bit to support others to make the difference.
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