INEQUALITY: THE ENEMY IN HACKNEY? Briefing for the London Borough of Hackney Community Safety & Social Inclusion Scrutiny Commission and other interested parties Monday 24th November 2014 Bill Kerry from The Equality Trust The Equality Trust is an independent, evidence-based campaign working to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic inequality. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) Part 1 The Problem: UK inequality Part 2 The Solution: Local action? How much richer are the richest 20% than the poorest 20%? [ref 1.] Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) / United Nations Development Program UK INEQUALITY TODAY IN ££’s [ref: 2] Workers paid the current National Minimum Wage (NMW) would have to work… 342 years! to earn the average annual pay of FTSE 100 CEOs Health and social problems are worse in more unequal countries [ref: 1] Index includes: Worse •Life expectancy •Maths & literacy •Infant mortality •Homicides •Imprisonment •Teenage births •Trust •Obesity •Mental illness (inc. drug and alcohol addiction) •Social mobility Better Low Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) Income inequality High Health and social problems are not related to average income in rich countries [ref: 1] Index includes: Worse •Life expectancy •Maths & literacy •Infant mortality •Homicides •Imprisonment •Teenage births •Trust •Obesity •Mental illness (inc. drug and alcohol addiction) •Social mobility Better National income per person ($) Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) Levels of Trust are Higher in More Equal Rich Countries [ref: 1] Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) MECHANISMS: VALUED OR DEVALUED? how material differences create social distances... [ref: 1] More chronic stress, more illness, more bad choices, more violence, less trust, less social confidence and less social interaction (less community life or “social capital”) More worry about how we are seen and judged More “social evaluation anxiety” – more worry about DISRESPECT (threats to self-esteem & social status, fear of negative judgements) More superiority and inferiority More status competition and consumerism More status insecurity More inequality Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) What kinds of stressful tasks raise stress hormones most? [ref: 1] Cortisol response (effect size) 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Tasks with ‘social evaluative threat’ (uncontrollable) Other tasks Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol responses. Psychological Bulletin 2004; 130(3): 355-91. Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) A quick word on the Riots of 2011… (a catastrophic breakdown in social cohesion) [ref: 3] EVERY SINGLE ONE of the seven issues highlighted by the Government-commissioned: “Riots, Communities and Victims Panel” are strongly related to inequality… Powerful and growing academic evidence shows: [ref: 3] 1. Children and Parents Where inequality is high, child wellbeing is low 2. Personal Resilience Relative deprivation adds to the stresses of life and erodes resilience 3. Hopes and dreams Inequality predicts that a person born poor will likely stay poor 4. Riots and the brands Inequality increases status competition and desire for status symbols 5. The usual suspects Inequality is strongly associated with more acquisitive and violent crime 6. Police and the public Where inequality is high there is more use of force by police 7. Community engagement, involvement and cohesion Inequality weakens trust, community life and social cohesion CAN A NATIONAL PROBLEM BE ADDRESSED BY LOCAL ACTION? [ref: 4] It is very difficult but much good work can be done in many different areas to smooth off some of the jagged edges of inequality and poverty in your area… • • • • • • Living wage Pay differentials Debt and credit Local jobs Youth unemployment Support for mothers • • • • • • Health Housing Internet access Energy bills Food banks Boosting democracy Local responses: the challenges [ref: 4] • • • • • • Language: is fairness too weak a word? Getting political traction and agreement Getting real public participation and buy-in Moving from proposals to implementation Who is responsible for implementation? How to monitor progress (or lack of…)? A modest proposal… [ref: 5] * The taxation which pays for local authority spending exacerbates inequality. Most of it comes via DCLG from general taxation which is regressive overall - and about a quarter comes from Council Tax which is very regressive. * Hackney should consider rebalancing this by adopting a goal that the net impact of your spending policies will be to reduce the gap between the richest and the rest in the borough. References: 1. “About Inequality” section of The Equality Trust website (which includes The Spirit Level evidence) http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/about-inequality 2. National Minimum Wage statistics from The Equality Trust (September 2014) http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/news/342-years-national-minimum-wage-worker-earn-pay-ftse-100-ceo 3. Inequality and the 2011 Riots Research Digest No.5 at: http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/node/781 4. Approaches to Reducing Poverty and Inequality in the UK (May 2014) A Study of Civil Society Initiatives and Fairness Commissions (a Webb Memorial Trust report for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty) http://www.webbmemorialtrust.org.uk/uncategorized/civil-society-and-poverty/ 5. Unfair and Unclear: The Effects and Perceptions of the UK Tax System (June 2014) http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/our-publications/unfair-and-unclear-effects-and-perceptions-uk-tax-system -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Also recommend: The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) For ideas and help with developing a vibrant local economy where money stays in your area – see http://www.cles.org.uk/