Welfare, deprivation and desperation

Statement by the Community Faiths’ Forum

The Community Faiths’ Forum is deeply concerned about the increase in poverty in Northern Ireland. There is special concern about the current level and expected increase in child poverty in the future which will blight and stunt the lives of so many; more than 1 in 4 children currently live in poverty and this is expected to rise to be well over a third of children by 2020. (*1) “Household incomes, poverty rates and the labour market have all worsened in Northern Ireland in the last five years. In each case, this deterioration has been greater than in Great Britain.” (*2)

The Community Faiths’ Forum is composed of members from different faiths with involvement in social and community issues. We are clear that this area is one of the most essential for government and society to get right. Things need to change.

There are of course questions about what can be afforded by state and society, particularly after a long recession. But there are also questions about what we cannot afford to ignore. The current and developing situation is storing up financial and relational problems for the future and creating unnecessary suffering for people of all kinds and in most parts of Northern Ireland, many of whom are ‘working poor’. (*3)

We recognise that there are all sorts of problems in dealing with the issue of poverty. One of these is the differences in political orientation between parties in Northern Ireland, and therefore agreeing an approach. The greater parameter of UK–wide welfare levels, changes and cuts, is another, overarching, factor. 

However it is clear that Northern Ireland is in the process of losing a very significant amount of money, hundreds of millions of pounds, due to a variety of factors. Some of this loss (such as reform of Incapacity Benefit) was instigated by the previous government at Westminster. There is debate about the financial effect of the Welfare Reform Bill at Stormont which would usher in Universal Credit, and it may be relatively neutral. (*4) However it is clear that what will be lost overall, in a population of 1.8 million, is not across the board but by the very poorest. This could represent a loss of hundreds or thousands of pounds to some families already struggling to survive.

In relation to the Welfare Reform Bill the Community Faiths’ Forum is not advocating any one particular response. A variety of possibilities exist. However, while faith communities, community and other groups have expressed great concern, we feel there needs to be a much wider societal debate about what support is provided to vulnerable people in society. Such a debate should not be for its own sake but a prelude to action in support of those who are suffering.

We realise that the failure to reach agreement on welfare reform within Northern Ireland is symptomatic of both political differences and of issues relating to the governance structure in Northern Ireland. We are not so naïve as to think that agreement is easy or it would already have taken place. However we do feel that there is an urgent need for all of us to address this issue, examine all the options with society, and take the decisions which will best safeguard the futures of those most in need in Northern Ireland.

As people of faith, all of our creeds demand that poor people and others in need be treated with dignity and justice. This is part of our common humanity. We expect our politicians and political parties to rise to the challenge. We as civil society also need to do our bit in discussing, debating, and examining ways forward, and doing what we can where the state genuinely cannot.

There has to be urgent action on poverty, initiatives which Northern Ireland takes itself if Westminster fails to act. Not to do so would be a betrayal of our heritage of care, and most of all a betrayal of those in need who have such an important position in all our religious traditions.

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References
(*1) Save the Children, “A Fair Start for Every Child – NI Executive Summary”, May 2014 http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/Policy_briefing_Northern_Ireland_Fair_Start.pdf and
Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2013, “Child and Working–Age Poverty in Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2020”, http://www.ifs.org.uk/comms/r78.pdf

(*2) Joseph Rowntree Foundation, “Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Northern Ireland 2014”, http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/northern-ireland-poverty-summary.pdf

(*3) Some of the complexities of supporting people who are working and poor are explored in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report “Wages, Taxes and Top–Ups: The changing role of the state in helping working families make ends meet”, June 2014 http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/wages-taxes-and-top-ups and The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ chapter on “Policies to help the low paid” (Chapter 7) in their Green Budget, February 2014, http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/gb2014/gb2014_ch7.pdf

(*4) The Department for Social Development’s Welfare Reform Briefing is at http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/asu-welfare-reform-briefing.htm
See also the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report mentioned above in (*2), which, if you exclude the ‘bedroom tax’ (unlikely to be brought in for Northern Ireland) points to a loss of upwards of £90 million a year through welfare reform.

The Community Faiths’ Forum website is at http://www.ccwa-ni.org.uk/cff/

Further details about this statement are available from Rev Bill Shaw, co–chair of the Community Faiths’ Forum, phone 079 58057707.