從政策入手滅貧 Advocating Policy for Combating Poverty 1 Ms. Christine Fang The Hong Kong Council of Social Service 17 th October, 2005

從政策入手滅貧 Advocating Policy for Combating Poverty

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Ms. Christine FangThe Hong Kong Council of Social Service17th October, 2005


1. Definitions (EC Joint Report on Social Inclusion)

2. Common Objectives in Combating Poverty (EC)

3. Policy Strategies: Mobilize All Relevant Bodies

4. Key Priorities in National Action Plans Against Poverty & Social Exclusion (2005 EC)

5. Policy Targets

6. Poverty Indicators

7. Case Study: Ireland’s National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) & Community Engagement Structure

8. Recommendations for Hong Kong

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1. Definitions (EC Joint Report on Social Inclusion)

Poverty:

The income & resources of people living in poverty are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living considered acceptable in the society in which they live.

Social Inclusion:

A process that ensures those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities & resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social & cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living & well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live.

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2. Common Objectives in Combating Poverty (EC)

• Facilitate Participation in Employment

• Ensure Access to Resources, Rights, Goods & Services for All

• Prevent the Risks of Exclusion

• Help the Most Vulnerable

• Mobilize All Relevant Bodies

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3. Policy Strategies: Mobilize All Relevant Bodies (EC Obj 5)

1. Mainstream the Fight Against Poverty & Exclusion

• Develop national action plan with targets & programs

• Decentralize, strengthen local input, adapt administrative & local services (client-based) joint-up approach

• Monitoring & evaluation

2. Promote Participation & Self Expression of People in Poverty & Suffering Exclusion

3. Promote Dialogue & Partnership• Involve social partners, NGOs & social service

providers

• Build public awareness & engagement

• Foster social responsibility of business

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4. Key Priorities in National Action Plans Against Poverty & Social Exclusion (2005 EC)

• Increasing labour market participation

• Modernizing social protection systems

• Tackling disadvantages in education & training

• Eliminating child poverty

• Ensuring decent accommodation

• Improving access to quality services

• Overcoming discrimination & increasing the integration of people with disabilities, ethnic minorities & immigrants6


5. Policy Targets

• Direct Outcome Target – directly indicate a reduction in poverty & social exclusion in a key policy domain e.g. unemployment, low income, poor housing / homelessness, educational disadvantage, poor health• Intermediate Outcome Targets – indirectly contribute to a reduction in poverty & social exclusion e.g. reduction in number of people depending on assistance payments, general increase in employment levels, reduction in level of sick leave• Input Target – aim at an increase in policy efforts e.g. increasing the no. of homeless assisted, ensuring all new immigrants participate in an integration programme7


5. Example of Policy Target Setting :Ireland National Action Plan Against Poverty &

Social ExclusionPolicy Objective:

To facilitate participation in employment

Policy Targets:

To eliminate long term unemployment as soon as circumstances permit but in any event not later than 2007

To reduce the level of unemployment experienced by vulnerable groups towards the national average by 2007

To increase the employment rate of women to an average of more than 60 per cent in 2010, as envisaged in the National Employment Action Plan and

To achieve the objectives set out in the National Employment Action Plan to increase employment rates

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EC Commonly Agreed Indicators• 11 Primary Indicators


•At-risk-of poverty rate

•At-risk-of poverty threshold

•Income quintile ratio

•Persistent at-risk-of poverty rate

•Relative median poverty risk gap

•Regional Cohesion

•Long term unemployment rate

•Population living in jobless households: children /

prime-age adults

•Early school leavers not in education or training

•Life expectancy

•Self-defined health status by income level

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EC Commonly Agreed Indicators• 9 Secondary Indicators


•Dispersion around the at-risk-of-poverty threshold•At-risk-of-poverty rate

anchored at a moment in time

•At-risk-of-poverty rate before social cash tra

nsfers•Gini coefficient

•Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate (50% of median equivalised income)•In-work poverty risk•Long-term unemployment share•Very long term unemployment rate•Persons with low educational attainment10

從政策入手滅貧 Advocating Policy for Combating Poverty7. Case Study: Ireland’s National Anti-

Poverty Strategy (NAPS) & Community Engagement Structure

NAPS Structures Role

Social Partnership Agreement 03-05 –

Sustaining Progress*

National program for economic & social

development, agreed upon by government and

its social partners: employers, trade unions,

farmers and the community & voluntary sector.

Ten special initiatives identified for inclusion.

A Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion,

chaired by the Prime Minister

Overall direction of the strategies

A Senior Officials Group on Social Inclusion,

drawn from all relevant Government

Departments and chaired by the Dept. of the

Prime Minister

Co-ordinates policy developments and reports to

the Cabinet Committee

Parliament Joint Committee on Social and

Family Affairs

Monitors strategies at political level

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Office for Social Inclusion (OSI) Co-ordinates the development of strategies,

monitors and evaluates progress against

objectives and targets

Management Group of Assistant Secretaries Co-ordinates the work of the OSI, with relevant

Government Departments

Social Inclusion Units in key Government

Departments and agencies

Co-ordinates development and implementation

of social inclusion strategies within Department

and agencies, in liaison with OSI

Social Inclusion Consultative Group includes

representatives of Social Partners, Government

Agencies and the community and voluntary

sector

Provides advice on implementation and

development of the strategies


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Social Inclusion Forum Representatives of the community and

voluntary sector and other relevant sectors, and

people experiencing poverty, meet on an annual

basis to advise on all aspects of the strategies

The Combat Poverty Agency: A Catalyst for

Change

Statutory agency established & funded by

Government to develop and promote

evidence-based proposals and measures on the

prevention and elimination of poverty. Works

with community groups and the OSI in

developing and driving the strategies


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7. Questions on Lessons Learnt : Effectiveness of such Policies & Programs

1. Accorded high priority in Government agenda, with Government pledges on targets to be achieved

2. Strong mandate to pull community efforts & innovative programmes (resources, researches, opportunities etc.)

3. Evidenced-based quantifiable & qualifiable demonstration of needs, effectiveness of programmes, measurements of poverty are in place

4. Community engagement structure & process strengthened social consensus and solidarity

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8.1 To Develop a Set of Poverty Indicatorsa. “At-risk-of poverty” rate - To use the measurement of half median famil

y income of various family size to identify low income families at risk of poverty ( can break down by household type-households with & without dependent children; by accommodation; by economic activity status)

b. Income quintile ratio

c. Persistent at-risk poverty rate – share of persons with equivalised disposable income below the at-risk-of poverty threshold in the current yr and in at least 2 of the preceding 3 yrs

d. Gini coefficient

e. Long term unemployment rate - total long-term unemployed population (> 12 mths, ILO definition) as a proportion of total active population aged 15 yrs of above

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f. Population living in jobless households – % over total population for children/ elderly/working age adults

g. Early school leavers not in education or training – share of persons aged 18-24 who have only lower sec education and have not received education or training in the 4 weeks preceding the survey

h. Persons with low educational attainment – share of the adult population (aged 25 yrs and over)whose highest level of education or training

i. Self defined health status by income level – proportion of pop’n aged 16 yrs and over in the bottom and top quintile of the equivalised income distribution who classify themselves as in a bad or very bad state of health

j. In-work poverty risk – individuals who are classified as employed according to the definition of most frequent activity status and who are at risk of poverty

8.1 To Develop a Set of Poverty Indicators


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8.2 To Define the Objectives of Anti-Poverty Policy / Programs

• Facilitate participation in employment – make work available, make work pay and make work skilled

• Facilitate access to resources, rights and services for all - ensure basic livelihood protection for those who cannot work, decent and sanitary housing, healthcare, education, justice and personal support services to live in accordance with human dignity

• Target at vulnerable groups to prevent poverty – child poverty, elderly poverty, and people that have a disability or belong to a group experiencing particular integration problems. To ensure all have the chance to improve their lives, which is important to keep people motivated and not to give up


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8.3 Priority Issues for Action in Combating Poverty (COP)

• Prevent Intergenerational Poverty

• Working Poor

• Community-based Anti-Poverty Model


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8.3.1 Prevent Intergenerational Poverty

Strategies:• Facilitate employment of Parents in Low Income Families

with dependent children• Drive down youth unemployment rate• Ensure access to quality childcare and preschool service

for all, especially low income families: provision rate against projected demand and take up rate

• Ensure school attainment level and drop-out rate of low income children do not fare below others

• Ensure provision & take up of subsidized informal/extracurricular educational activities reaches children at-risk-of poverty

• Enrollment rate of youth in continuous learning


8.3 Priority Issues for Action in Combating Poverty (COP)

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8.3.2 Working Poor

Strategies:• Make work available – encourage investment in economic act

ivities that can increase job opportunities or by using opportunities for integration and employment provided by the social economy; put in place, for those in the most vulnerable groups in society, pathways towards employment and by mobilizing training policies to that end

• Make work pay – minimum wage issue or wage subsidy or tax credit measures

• Make work skilled – invest in training and re-training, to improve employability through human resource management, organization of work and life-long learning


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8.3.3 Community-based Anti-Poverty Model

Strategies:• Set Floor Targets to improve relative disadvantage in t

he 5 basic domains of Employment, Education (School Attainment/ Literacy/School Drop-out), Health, Housing, Crime

• Establish Local Strategic Partnership platform to mobilize X-sector efforts and resources to find local solutions to local problems

• Give incentives for local enterprise enhancement for Job Creation


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8.4 Community Engagement Structure & Process

• Commission on Poverty to host public forum to engage stakeholders in identifying & addressing priority issues of poverty

• Set up District Partnership Platforms

• Drafting of a 5-year Action Plan to Combat Poverty (interim 2-year target)

• Develop a set of Poverty Indicators

• Encourage and Commission research to analyse, monitor state of poverty in Hong Kong


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T h a n k Y o T h a n k Y o uu

Documents

從政策入手滅貧 Advocating Policy for Combating Poverty 1 Ms. Christine Fang The Hong Kong Council of Social Service 17 th October, 2005