Single Outcome Agreements

As part of our poverty agenda, we have produced an analysis of the 32 Scottish Local Authorities Single Outcomes Agreements, highlighting their failure to address the gendered nature of poverty.
One strand of Engender’s work is concerned with gendered poverty.  We believe that women’s poverty reflects women’s unequal place in society, in the gendered division of labour, continued sex discrimination and gender stereotyping.  Together these underpin women’s position in the labour market, family and welfare state and the interaction between the three determines women’s economic status over their lifetimes and this in turn is inextricably linked to child poverty despite seldom being acknowledged as such.
Engender is currently working on a Women and Regeneration project funded by Oxfam.  Through the project we would wish to work with stakeholders to develop a set of public sector gendered poverty indicators which can be used by public sector managers in gendered planning and by women’s organisations to engage with public bodies and hold them to account.  As background preparation for this work, Carol, our Policy Lead has conducted a desk study of policy and performance indicators to identify any public sector indicators for gender and poverty.  

Single Outcome Agreements - Policy background

In November 2007, the Scottish Government and COSLA published a Concordat, setting out a new way of working between central and local government in Scotland. The Concordat saw the removal of ring-fencing from much local authority funding, and a greater freedom for local authorities to focus on local priorities, within a framework of 15 national outcomes and 45 national indicators.
In July 2008, all 32 local authorities in Scotland published their Single Outcome Agreements (SOA), documents setting out how each area will contribute to meeting the national outcomes set out by the Scottish Government, and describing local outcomes and areas on which particular attention will be focused.
In November 2008 the Scottish Government published A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland. This Framework – agreed with COSLA – provides a focus for public, private and voluntary sectors to work together to deliver greater Solidarity for all.  The Framework has been developed in the context of the Scottish Government’s overall commitment to equality and tackling discrimination.  The approach is based on the view that child poverty is best tackled as part of a broader effort to reduce poverty and inequality in Scotland and that the income inequality target supports the focus on improving outcomes for all citizens.

Single Outcome Agreements - The Engender study

The study was based on reference to addressing poverty within each of the SOAs and the priority given to addressing it within the SOA framework.  In particular we were looking at the local context for the national outcomes since this section in the SOA provides background information on the local area to assist in explaining the prioritisation of local outcomes, indicators and targets.
We looked at the national outcome used by each local authority within which they situated poverty as well as what each local authority is seeking to achieve by their local outcome, in relation to tackling poverty. We were aware from the outset that it was unlikely that we would find any gendered poverty indicators but we were interested to see what, if any, reference was made to gender inequality issues across any of the national outcomes.
National Outcomes are defined in the SOA Guidance as the impacts or consequences for society of the activities of the whole public sector, a statement of what the Scottish Government in partnership with local government is trying to achieve.  The Scottish Government agreed 15 National Outcomes with local government.  The Outcomes are all gender neutral and although several of them link to poverty and deprivation, we were particularly interested in the outcomes and indicators under National Outcome 7: “We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society.”

Concerns

It has already been noted by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that it is a matter of some concern that many UK public bodies, “have faced difficulties in developing results-based and action-oriented equality schemes and in mainstreaming gender equality into all policies and processes.” (CEDAW, June/July 2008)
It is clear to us at Engender that the SOA’s have not been subject to the appropriate or necessary equality impact assessment, in compliance with the Public Sector Duties on equality (specifically the GED).  Effective discharge of these duties requires political direction and leadership consistent with the Scottish Government’s commitment to promoting equality through the policies and programmes it funds.  From our analysis it is evident that there is a lack of direction to make visible such measures to promote equality in the SOAs required of the local authorities in Scotland and this is a matter of real concern.
Engender have produced an analysis of the Single Outcome Agreements as part of our poverty policy work.  Read this report here