Lesson Starter What has the Central Government done to tackle poverty? Have these policies worked?

We are learning to… Examine Examine whether government policies to reduce inequalities have been successful.

Success Criteria I can plan an essay I can plan an essay outlining the successes and failures of government policies.

Evaluate Question Evaluate the effectiveness of government policies in reducing inequalities amongst disadvantaged groups – 12 marks You should refer to different groups within society and government policies that have been implemented to try and tackle poverty.

Extended Response (12 marks) For 12-mark responses, up to a maximum of 8 marks will be awarded for knowledge and understanding (description, explanation and exemplification). The remaining marks will be awarded for the demonstration of higher-order skills of analysis or evaluation. If a candidate makes more analytical/evaluative points than are required to gain the maximum allocation of 4 marks, these can be credited as knowledge and understanding marks.

Things to Cover The main groups that suffer from poverty An evaluation of the success of policies to try and reduce poverty in Scotland and the UK. In pairs list what you would include in this answer. Think about how you would evaluate their effectiveness. Government Policies

Policy SuccessPolicy Failure National Minimum Wage Introduced 1st April Encouraged low-paid workers to move back into work, protects workers from exploitation Helped to increase the income of over 1 million workers, 78% of whom were women. The minimum wage is rising in the biggest increase since the According to the Government, the above- inflation change will mean more than 1 million people see their pay rise by up to £355 a year. A vital safety net for low paid workers Groups including the Living Wage Foundation argue that the rate still does not reflect the increased cost of living. Research by the Resolution Foundation think tank claimed that increasing numbers of employees are getting stuck on the minimum wage for years. The number of workers receiving it has doubled since it was introduced in The minimum wage used to always rise faster than inflation but the recession has blown it way off course. Today's minimum wage is no higher in real terms than it was almost a decade ago. In 2010, around 3½ million employees aged 22 to retirement were paid less than £7 per hour. Two-thirds were women and one-third were men.

Policy SuccessPolicy Failure Tax Credits Lifted lots of lone parents and families with children out of poverty SUCCESS of Tax Credits: Things have improved in relative terms. Fewer children now live in what would have been called poverty a decade ago. If government had merely increased tax allowances and benefits in line with inflation since 1999 there would be 1.7m more poor children in the UK today. FAILURE of tax credits: - Half the children in poverty are in families already doing paid work; this means that the key proposition behind the anti-poverty strategy – ‘work is the route out of poverty’ does not apply for many people. The underlying problem is low pay (despite National Minimum Wage). Target to end child poverty by 2020 looks ‘unattainable’ 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty. Most of the young adults aged 16 to 24 now in poverty were children when the Government first pledged to abolish child poverty in Two-thirds of them are single and without dependent children, many still living at home with their parents. UK child poverty is still above the EU average.

Policy SuccessPolicy Failure Coalition Reforms Simplification – introduce Universal Credit by merging JSA, housing benefit, child tax credit, working tax credit, income support and employment support allowance into a single universal payment Child benefit will be cut for families with a higher rate tax payer from 2013, families with one earner on more than £50000 will see their benefit stopped USE NOTES ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT HERE CRITICISMS of coalition reforms: In the long – term approx. 1.7 million households will have lower entitlements than they otherwise would have done Child Benefit – Child Poverty Action Group concerned that government will miss its own targets to eradicate child poverty by 2020 – Future costs of damaged life chances? The number of children in relative poverty is forecast to rise from 2.5 million in 2009/10 to 2.9 million by 2020/21 SEE NOTES ON CRITICS OF THE CREDIT

Model Paragraph Women and children are groups that are said to be disadvantaged in society. Successive governments have attempted to help these groups by passing various legislation. Some more successful than others. TASK Write a paragraph on the NMW. Include: Successes/ failures/ evaluative comment YOU MUST MAKE A JUDGEMENT

Write a paragraph on the NMW. Explain what it is- which group is it meant to help? EVALUATION EVALUATION- does this policy work or not. Give evidence to back your argument. (K) KNOWLEDGE (E) EVALUATIVE COMMENT

However, it could also be argued that the NMW has not been completely successful in dealing with the issue of poverty This shows that NMW is actually having a reverse effect and not helping those in poverty at all because it is said that today's minimum wage is no higher in real terms than it was almost a decade ago. The National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999 to encourage low paid workers to move back into employment. It was also hoped that it would protect some groups from exploitation and lift people out of poverty. It has worked to a certain extent because it has helped to increase the income of over 1 million workers, 78% of whom were women. It is a well known fact that many women are paid less and often struggle with the cost of childcare, so with the national minimum wage, it could be argued that the strain will be lessened. Moreover, the government are also aiming to raise the NMW and it is believed that people 1 million people will see their pay rise. However, it could also be argued that the NMW has not been completely successful in dealing with the issue of poverty. Groups including the Living Wage Foundation argue that the rate still does not reflect the increased cost of living. Furthermore, research by the Resolution Foundation think tank claimed that increasing numbers of employees are getting stuck on the minimum wage for years. This shows that NMW is actually having a reverse effect and not helping those in poverty at all because it is said that today's minimum wage is no higher in real terms than it was almost a decade ago. Therefore many groups, such as women and children are still suffering from the effects of poverty because the NMW does not cover the cost of living. It is clear that the NMW has been successful to a certain extent.

Peer Marking Task Does the answer: three Have three different benefits discussed and explained fully and accurately? Relate closely Relate closely to the aspects of the question? Have different disadvantaged groups been highlighted? evaluative Have evaluative comments throughout? Has the questioned been answered? Does it say if the benefits have been successful or not and evidence used to back up the decision?