Items tagged “socialsecurity”

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: International Women’s Day 2022 - #BreakTheBias

Engender welcomes this opportunity to mark International Women’s Day 2022 with this briefing and the Parliament’s debate. This year’s theme - #BreakTheBias – aims to highlight conscious and unconscious discrimination against women in all walks of life. Preventing and eradicating violence requires serious action to secure women’s social, economic and cultural equality and the rights of women and girls. UN Women has estimated that the impact of Covid-19 for women’s equality could mean the loss of 25 years’ worth of progress, and Scotland is not immune. Measures to respond to the pandemic have disproportionately affected women’s access to paid work - especially younger women and women of colour - and the volume of care that women provide.

Breaking the structural bias that leaves women poorer, further from power and opportunities and more vulnerable to violence, abuse and harm demands urgent attention and action.

Date of publication: March 2022.

Joint Response to the UK Government Work and Pensions Committee Short Inquiry into the Impact of the Universal Credit Household Payment

Since 2010, the UK Government has pursued an austerity agenda and programme of ‘welfare reform’ which will result in a total of £82 billion of cuts to the social security budget by 2020. This is having an egregious impact on women’s access to resources, security and safety, and therefore on gender equality and women’s human rights. Over the decade of austerity, from 2010 to 2020, 86 percent of net ‘savings’ raised through cuts to social security and tax credits will come from women’s incomes.

Joint Briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament Social Security (Scotland) Bill Stage 3 Debate on Universal Credit

Ahead of the Stage 3 Debate in Parliament, Engender, along with The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, One Parent Families Scotland, Advocard, The Health and Social Care Alliance, Poverty Alliance, Scottish Women’s Aid, and the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers have produced a briefing in support of Amendment 144 Universal Payment: Payment to Joint Claimants to the Social Security (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: April 2018.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee on the Social Security (Scotland) Bill

Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Committee’s call for views. Over the last two years, we have worked with our partners at Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carers Scotland to highlight the link between women’s inequality and the existing UK social security system.

Date of publication: August 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee Call for Evidence on the Two-child Limit for Tax Credits and Universal Credit

Engender welcomes the opportunity to present evidence to the Social Security Committee on the two-child limit. We have been working with other women’s organisations in Scotland over the last few years to chart the impact of ‘welfare reform’, and the ways in which it is widening inequality between women and men.

Analysis of the two-child limit by Child Poverty Action Group calculates its impact as a loss of up to £2,800 every year per child. In addition, it is projected that these deep cuts to social security for families with more than two children will push up to 200,000 more children into poverty, and will impact approximately 510,000 families in 2019-20.

Date of publication: May 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee Call for Evidence on the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill

Engender welcomes the introduction of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, which ambitiously sets targets to eradicate child poverty by 2030. The introduction of the proposed legislation signals a commitment by the Scottish Government to continue to implement measures to build a fairer Scotland. Though we welcome the Bill, we wish to highlight the importance of understanding the gendered dimension of poverty, as it is our firm belief that understanding and tackling women’s poverty in Scotland will be central to the success of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: May 2017.

Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit

A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Supported by: Carers Scotland, Close the Gap, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women's Aid, Inclusion Scotland, The Poverty Alliance, BEMIS, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Irish Heritage Foundation, Rape Crisis Scotland, the Sottish Women's Budget Group, Zero Tolerance, the Young Women's Movement in Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, the Wheatley Group, Barnardo's Scotland, Oxfam Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, One Parent Families Scotland.

Date of publication: March 2016.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Child Tax Credit and Child Element of Universal Credit ('Family Cap') Debate

Engender's briefing in advance of the Scottish Parliament debate on Child Tax Credit and Child Element of Universal Credit (known as the 'family cap', and including the so-called 'rape clause').

Date of publication: April 2017.

Securing Women's Futures: Summary of Recommendations

A summary of recommendations from 'Securing Women's Futures: Using Scotland's New Social Security Powers to Close the Gender Equality Gap'.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Securing Women's Futures: Using Scotland's New Social Security Powers to Close the Gender Equality Gap

This joint report from Engender, Close the Gap, Scottish Women's Aid, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carer Scotland summarises why and how women are affected by social security policy and sets out ways in which new powers can be engaged to increase women’s equality in Scotland. Our recommendations are presented in terms of systemic gender inequalities that dictate the impact of social security policy on women – paid work, unpaid work, domestic abuse and multiple discrimination. We also highlight experiences of women with whom we work. It is this documenting of daily realities and of growing anger, fear and stress that remains the basis of our call to action on women’s social security.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Universal Credit (Claims and Payments) (Scotland) 2017

Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the proposed regulations respecting two of the devolved flexibilities related to Universal Credit.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Response to UK Government Consultation on Exceptions to the Reforms Which Limit the Child Elements in Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to a Maximum of Two Children

Engender fundamentally rejects the principles behind both reducing vital social security for mothers of more than two children, and making an exception where a child is conceived as a result of rape.

Date of Publication: November 2016.

Engender Response to Scottish Government Consultation on Social Security in Scotland

Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on social security in Scotland. Together with partners at Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carers Scotland, we have consistently worked to highlight the links between women’s inequality and the current UK social security system. Earlier this year we released a policy report on Scotland’s new powers over social security, recommending a suite of ways in which new powers can be engaged to increase women’s equality in Scotland.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on a Child Poverty Bill

Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s plans for a Child Poverty Bill for Scotland. We have consistently worked to highlight the inextricable links between women’s economic inequality and child poverty, and this consultation response is based on the need to mainstream gender throughout the development of any new legislation. Women are twice as dependent on social security as men, the gender pay gap persists at 14.8% in Scotland, 62% of workers that earn below the living wage are women, and pervasive violence against women undermines women’s access to resources and financial autonomy. Disabled women, black and minority ethnic (BME) women, lone mothers, unpaid carers, and refugee and asylum seeking women, amongst other groups are particularly at risk of poverty due to their gender and other forms of inequality and discrimination. Statistics show that a small majority of women in Scotland live in poverty, but these only take stock of figures for single-headed households and mask the extent of women’s poverty due to income inequality within many couple households.

Date of publication: September 2016.

A Widening Gap: Women and Welfare Reform

Since 2010, £26 billion worth of cuts have been made to benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions. 85% of this has been taken from women’s incomes.

This is a joint report from Engender, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, and Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations looking at the devastating impact of welfare report on women in Scotland.

Date of publication: April 2015.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Welfare Reform Committee Debate on Women and Social Security

In respective budgets since 2010, between 70% and 85% of cuts to public spending on benefits, taxation, pay and pensions have come from women’s incomes.

Engender welcomes this parliamentary debate and the Welfare Reform Committee’s report on women’s social security. In partnership with other women’s organisations, we have worked to highlight discrimination against women within the austerity agenda. ‘Welfare reforms’ and wider austerity measures are undermining progress towards gender equality, and have a major impact on women’s lives.

Since the Welfare Reform Committee held its inquiry into women and welfare, the context for women has worsened. The House of Commons Library estimate that 70% of the £34 billion worth of cuts announced in the UK Government’s ‘summer budget’ will fall on women. Further extensive cuts will have been announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement by the time this debate takes place. As a result of structural gender inequality, a similar gender profile can be expected. Certain groups of women, including lone mothers, refugees, disabled women, unpaid carers and women experiencing domestic abuse face multiple and particularly extreme impacts as a result.

The role of the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to protect social security for women is therefore more vital than ever. Strategic action is manifestly needed, or else existing commitments and political ambition on gender equality will not be achieved. Along with Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Refugee Council and Close the Gap, we are calling for a high-level summit on women’s social security, to develop such an approach.
This briefing sets out the current context for women and our proposals regarding forthcoming and existing powers over social security and related policy areas.

Date of publication: November 2015.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act Regulations and Guidance

Engender submission to the Scottish Government consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act regulations and guidance.

Date of publication: August 2015.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee Inquiry Into Women and Welfare

Since 2010, £26 billion worth of cuts have been made to benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions. 85% of this has been taken from women’s incomes.
Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to the Welfare Reform Committee’s inquiry on women and welfare reform. This submission highlights the links between discrimination against women within the welfare reform agenda with other areas of gender inequality.

Date of publication: May 2015.

Women's and Equalities Sector Joint Statement to the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare: Women, Further Devolution and Social Security

The Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare is an intergovernmental group with ministerial representatives from Scottish and UK governments working around the post-Smith Commission devolution of some elements of social security. This is a joint statement to that working group from (in alphabetical order): Close the Gap, Electoral Reform Society Scotland, Engender, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Inclusion Scotland, Lead Scotland, NUS Scotland Women's Campaign, One Parent Families Scotland, the Poverty Alliance, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women's Aid, Scottish Women's Budget Group, Shelter Scotland, Voluntary Action Scotland, Women's Support Project, YouthLink Scotland, YWCA Scotland, and Zero Tolerance.

Date of publication: March 2015

Scotland's Futures: Women and Poverty

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Welfare Reform Committee Debate on Welfare Reform and the Smith Commission

A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Welfare Reform Committee debate on welfare reform and the Smith Commission on 18 December 2014.

Date of publication: December 2014.

Engender Response to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Refom Committee Consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill

Engender's response to the Welfare Reform Committee's consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Gender and 'Welfare Reform': A Joint Position Paper

This joint position paper on gender and ‘welfare reform’ draws together the multiple ways in which women are penalised by cuts to the benefits and tax credits system, and describes the gender inequality that accounts for these impacts. It also makes a set of recommendations to Scottish Government as it shapes its ‘mitigation’ response to the UK’s ‘welfare reform’ agenda. We produced it in collaboration with Close the Gap, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Women’s Convention and Zero Tolerance.

Date of publication: April 2014

Engender Parliamentary Briefing - Welfare Debate 2014

A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Scottish Government debate on welfare in the Scottish Parliament on 13 August 2014.

Date of publication: August 2014

Multiple Jeopardy? The Impacts of the UK Government’s Proposed Welfare Reforms on Women in Scotland Background Paper

This policy paper outlines the multiple ways in which women are set to be adversely impacted by the UK Government's 'welfare reform' agenda.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Multiple Jeopardy? The Impacts of the UK Government’s Proposed Welfare Reforms on Women in Scotland Briefing Paper

This briefing paper outlines the multiple ways in which women are set to be adversely impacted by the UK Government's 'welfare reform' agenda.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Engender Submission to the Expert Working Group on Welfare Call for Evidence on Social Security in an Independent Scotland

Engender's response to the Expert Working Group on Welfare's second call for written evidence on social security in an independent Scotland.

Date of publication: December 2013.

Women in Scotland: Facts and Stats 2012 Calendar

Women in Scotland calendar 2012: monthly facts and stats on women's inequality.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Changes to Passported Benefits

Engender's response to the Scottish Government consultation on changes to passported benefits that will arise as a result of the introduction of Universal Credit and personal independence payment (PIP).

Date of publication: October 2012.

Social Security Consultation Focus Groups - Report

A report of eight focus groups run by Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Carers Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council, to contribute to the Scottish Government consultation on social security.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Social Security Consultation Focus Groups - Report

A report of eight focus groups run by Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Carers Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council, to contribute to the Scottish Government consultation on social security.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Gender Audit Series: Income and Wealth

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S.Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Engender Response to the Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland

Engender's Response to the Government Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland

Date of publciation: June 2008.