Poverty stricken workers to wait longer for help

Monday 04 February 2019

Tackling the problem of 'in-work poverty' - which is said to affect 14% of Guernsey residents, has been 'kicked down the road' and will now be added into a much larger work stream than originally suggested.

The Scrutiny Management Committee tried to get various committees, including Health and Social Care and Employment and Social Security, to investigate ways of alleviating poverty by finding ways of improving equity of access to healthcare and new housing policies.

However, Deputies Gavin St Pier and Jane Stephens led an amendment during last week's States debate which instead replaced a string of five propositions with two which simply say the States will look at the findings of a review of poverty in the island, and will add the problem of dealing with in-work poverty to the Policy and Resources Plan which is essentially the States' blueprint for island life. 

Above: The Policy and Resources Plan is the States' blueprint for island life. 

The President of the Scrutiny Management Committee, Deputy Chris Green, was disappointed with the decision to put in-work poverty into the P&R plan, warning the island's senior political committee that he'll be closely watching what they do to address the problems faced by thousands of families.

"The issue has now been kicked into the P&R plan and that's fine," he said. "The responsibility now falls on P&R and the other principal committees now, and let's see what actual progress is made by June 2019. We'll be watching like hawks."

He wondered aloud what the proposals to tackle in work poverty will actually be and said he and others will be waiting with bated breath.

"We've been waiting two and a half years in this political term - how much longer are we going to have to wait? The onus is now on the committees to outline exactly what they will be doing and how.

"We don't know what is going to be done, and when, by P&R and the principal committees - we don't know in any detail what States policy is on in work poverty and that's the nub of why this whole policy letter was necessary in the first place. Without this, it would never have found its way into the P&R plan in the first place."

Deputy Green - and others - queried how problems many families face, including struggling to pay for doctors appointments, will be tackled, and whether solutions like tax credits would work locally.

"Either we have the political will and ambition to tackle in work poverty effectively with the difficult decisions that will entail or we don't.

"If we don't, we should be open, frank and clear about that to the 14% of people who know what in work poverty really means," he said.

Pictured: Deputy Chris Green is President of the Scrutiny Management Committee. His ability to bring policy letters to the States within that role was also questioned during the debate on tackling in work poverty. He said the SMC should be able to guide States direction like that.

Other deputies were also disappointed with the decision to kick the issue down the road again. Many said that the problems facing people who work but still experience poverty have been well documented but the States haven't done anything to help.

Deputy Peter Roffey said in work poverty is a different situation to what some people may think when they consider what it means to be poor.

"What we are saying really is that you can’t judge people’s financial position just by their income, you also have to account for their inevitable expenses.

“If the States really want to make a difference they have to look at that side of the equation, and consider a range of things like affordable housing, medical care costs, and even things like child care. It needs a different perspective.

“I feel like history is slightly repeating itself with all of this being rolled into the P&R plan.”

Like Deputy Green, Deputy Roffey warned that he would be watching for signs of in work poverty being tackled through the P&R plan. He said that in the past when similar focus areas have been combined into larger plans they have been lost among the other parts.

“I am worried that could happen again. 

“We will be looking for real signs of improvement.” 

Pictured top: In work poverty means many people struggle to cover vital living expenses.