Social policy experts comment on Budget

16 March 2005

Social policy experts comment on Budget

NICVA’s Budget Panel welcomes many of the measures in the Budget, especially the extra help for low paid families, pensioners and lone parents and additional investment in education.

But Northern Ireland is living in a parallel universe. The Chancellor boasts about investment in education, health and other services but budgets here are being cut and important services are affected. The emergency funding for the women’s sector announced today by the Social Development Minister does nothing for many other voluntary and community groups that are being axed. The Budget has no good news for them either.

More direct steps would be welcome, especially an increase in benefits. For example, Jobseekers’ Allowance is rising by only 55 pence per week next month.

A general concern is that the Budget builds in protection for some groups but does nothing to protect poor families from higher costs such as fuel.

In Northern Ireland, many of the concessions offered by the Chancellor will be wiped out by higher rates bills, water charges and by other items that affect the poor most, including the cost of food, fuel and light, the Panel believes.

NICVA has already highlighted the need to reduce the huge number of economically inactive adults in Northern Ireland – well over 500,000 – so the Budget proposals on this may prove very helpful. But it remains to be seen if the changes merely penalise people receiving benefits like Incapacity Benefit.

What we need most of all are more jobs, paying better wages to give people an incentive to work in contrast with the low paid, dead-end jobs that are so common in Northern Ireland.

Comments from members of the panel

“This Budget only puts a sticking plaster over pensioner poverty, especially in Northern Ireland where, according to the Pensions Commission, pensioner incomes are 10% lower than in Britain ,” said Joleen Connolly from Help the Aged.

“We would like to see the basic pension raised to the level of the pension credit. This would mean pensioners would not have to suffer from means testing and would help lift them out of poverty. Half of pensioners here suffer fuel poverty so we welcome the continuing £200 winter fuel payment .”

“This Budget does nothing for the environment,” said Declan Allison, Friends of the Earth. “Mr Brown has missed an opportunity to say how he would tackle climate change. The concession for small ‘green’ cars is a step in the right direction but we believe they should be zero rated. We also think there should be far higher duties for gas guzzlers .”

Delia van der Lenden from the Community Development and Health Network welcomed greater investment in education but regretted that there was nothing to combat the growing problem of obesity in children such as extra funding for sports facilities and healthy food in schools.

“We cringe every time we hear the Chancellor talk about a free health service. Even people with moderate incomes pay for lots of things including dental treatment and prescriptions.”

“This is very definitely a pre-election Budget,” said Gingerbread’s Marie Cavanagh. “Gordon Brown has improved tax benefits for low income families but this will have limited impact on lone parents in Northern Ireland who are facing domestic rate rises, water charges and excessive monopolised fuel costs .

“We welcome the developments in Surestart and childcare but these may not translate to Northern Ireland where we have recently seen significant reductions in children’s services .”

“I welcome the £2,000 back to work allowance for lone parents but we need good jobs for this to become a reality ,” Ms Cavanagh added.

Lynn Carvill from the Organisation of the Unemployed NI said New Deal should be changed to make sure it encouraged people to gain real qualifications.

“Benefits should also be raised substantially in line with earnings. The government talks about work for those who can and security for those who can’t, but I don’t see evidence of that security ,” she said.

“Seven pence more on a pack of cigarettes will not make a blind bit of difference ,” said Myrtle Neill, Chest, Heart and Stroke Association. “The Chancellor has not looked at the health of the nation this time round and nothing in this Budget helps to create the ‘premier health service’ he says we should have .”

Anne O’Reilly, Women’s Resource and Development Agency, stressed the importance of women having the capacity to earn their own independent income. In Northern Ireland 57% of adults in poor households are women as are 92% of lone parents.

“WRDA welcomes any action to lower the barriers women face – the commitment to childcare and the child tax credit – but Northern Ireland has the worst provision of childcare places in the UK and needs more investment to benefit children and women. We also need to tackle the barriers to equality in the workforce that women face .”

For more information contact Paul Mc Gill, NICVA, 028 9087 7777; mob: 0772 1746 805.