Tackling A-W.qxd 19/1/06 4:15 pm Page 1 “A refreshing read, this book pulls no punches in charting the rise of poverty and social inequalities in Britain under the Conservatives and in exposing how official statistics were used to obscure the trend; nor in analysing the retreat of New Labour from redistributionist aims and the continuities between the ‘third way’ STUDIES IN POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION and Thatcherism.... An essential book for those concerned with policy analysis in relation to social justice and equality.” Jay Ginn, Research Fellow, University of Surrey T ackling inequalities The growing divide between the poor and the rich is the most significant social change to have occurred during the last few decades. The new Labour government inherited a country more unequal than at any other time since the Second World War. This book brings together a collection of contributions on inequalities in the main areas of British life: income, wealth, standard of living, employment, education, housing, crime and health. It charts the extent of the growth in inequalities and offers a coherent critique of the new Labour government’s policies aimed at tackling this crisis. In particular, the numerous area-based anti-poverty policies currently being pursued are unlikely to have a significant and long-lasting effect, since many lessons from the past have been ignored. The contributors use and interpret official data to show how statistics are often misused to obscure or distort the reality of inequality. A range of alternative policies for reducing inequalities in Britain are discussed and set within the global context of the need for international action. Tackling inequalities is a valuable contribution to the emerging policy debate written by the leading researchers in the field. It is essential reading for academics, policy makers, and students with an interest in inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. and David Gordon Edited by Christina Pantazi Studies in poverty, inequality and social exclusion Series Editor: David Gordon, Director, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research Poverty, inequality and social exclusion remain the most fundamental problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. This exciting new series, published in association with the Townsend Tackling inequalities Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, aims to make cutting- edge poverty related research more widely available. s Where are we now and what can be done? Edited by Christina Pantazis and David Gordon TACKLING INEQUALITIES Where are we now and what can be done? Edited by Christina Pantazis and David Gordon First published in Great Britain in 2000 by The Policy Press University of Bristol Fourt Floor, Beacon House Queen’s Road Bristol BS8 1QU UK Tel no +44 (0)117 331 4054 Fax no +44 (0)117 331 4093 E-mail [email protected] www.policypress.org.uk © The Policy Press 2000 Reprinted 2001 Transferred to Digital Print 2006 ISBN 10-1 86134 146 6 paperback ISBN 13-978 1 86134 1 464 Christina Pantazis is a Research Fellow at the School for Policy Studies and David Gordon is Professorial Research Fellow and the Director of the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol. David is also Head of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Social Justice, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the author and not of The University of Bristol or The Policy Press. The University of Bristol and The Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. The Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Cover design by Qube Design Associates, Bristol Photograph kindly supplied by Jean François Talivez, Arena Images Printed in Great Britain by Marston Book Services, Oxford Contents List of tables and figures iv Preface vii Acknowledgements xi List of acronyms xii Notes on contributors xv 1 Introduction 1 Christina Pantazis 2 Inequalities in income, wealth and standard of living 25 in Britain David Gordon 3 Inequalities in employment: problems of spatial divergence 59 Ivan Turok 4 Educational inequalities and Education Action Zones 87 Ian Plewis 5 How can we end inequalities in housing? 101 Alan Murie 6 Tackling inequalities in crime and social harm 117 Christina Pantazis 7 Poverty across the life-course and health 141 George Davey Smith and David Gordon 8 Inequalities in health service provision: how research 159 findings are ignored Walter Barker and Colin Chalmers 9 A mortality league table for Cabinet ministers? 181 Danny Dorling 10 Ending world poverty in the 21st century 211 Peter Townsend Index 233 iii List of tables and figures Tables 2.1 Share of the total income received by income decile 33 (after housing costs) (1979-96) (%) 2.2 Change in real median weekly incomes by decile group 34 at April 1998 prices (after housing costs) (1979-96) 2.3 Number and percentage of the population living on 35 incomes below half of the average in 14 European countries (1994) 2.4 Percentage of gainers and losers by income decile: 1999 46 Finance Bill changes 3.1 Changes in employment by area type (1951-91) 63 3.2 Changes in employment by sector and area type (1981-96) 65 3.3 Labour market accounts for Britain’s cities (1981-91) 72 3.4 Labour market accounts for Britain’s towns and rural 78 areas (1981-91) 4.1 Hypothetical percentages reaching at least Level 4, at two 93 points in time by social class group 5.1 Households unsatisfactorily housed, England and Wales 103 (1951-76) (000s) 5.2 Households and dwellings in England and Wales 103 (000s) (1951-76) 5.3 The backlog of disrepair by tenure, England (1996) 105 5.4 Summary of modern facilities by tenure, England (1996) 106 7.1 Access that the bottom decile income group has to 145 consumer durables (%) 7.2 Percentage of family types with incomes below half the 147 contemporary mean iv Tackling inequalities 7.3 Characteristics of individuals remaining in the bottom 147 income quintile for more than three years and of individuals escaping from the bottom income quintile at some point during a three-year period 7.4 Increases in child poverty rate (1967–92) 148 7.5 Increases in income inequality (1967-92) 148 9.1 Excess mortality and voting by 10 groups of parliamentary 183 constituencies containing roughly equal electorates 9.2 Voting for minor parties and not registering to vote by 187 the 10 groups of parliamentary constituencies 9.3 Seats won in 1997 by the 10 groups of parliamentary 189 constituencies containing equal electoral seats 9.4 Constituencies which make up decile I 191-4 9.5 Ministers’ and Shadow Ministers’ mortality league 195-7 tables (1997) 9.6 Ministers’ and Shadow Ministers’ mortality league 199-202 tables (1999) 9.7 Ministers’ and Shadow Ministers’ mortality league 204-5 tables (1999) 9.8 Change in voting between 1992-97 in the 10 groups 207 of parliamentary constituencies containing equal electorates Figures 2.1 Definition of poverty in terms of income and standard 29 of living 2.2 Percentage of the population below half average incomes 32 (after housing costs) (1961-96) 2.3 Percentage of children living in households with income 36 below half the median (1993) 2.4 Percentage of marketable wealth owned by the most 40 wealthy 10% (1976-94) 2.5 Estimated wealth of the richest 1,000 people in the UK 42 compared with the wealth of the least wealthy half of the population (1989-99) v List of tables and figures 2.6 Percentage of gainers and losers following three New 47 Labour Budgets 3.1 Cities in Britain with population greater than 250,000 61 (1991) 3.2 Change in employment by type of area (1981-96) 64 3.3 Change in employment by status (1981-96) (000s) 69 3.4 Change in employment by occupation (SEG) (1981-91) (%) 70 3.5 Occupational category (SEG) by industry sector (1991) (%) 71 6.1 Proportion of the population experiencing crime 129 (1993) (%) 6.2 Proportion of the population feeling unsafe on the streets 129 or at home (1993) (%) 6.3 Proportion of the population experiencing total crime 131 (1993) (%) 6.4 Proportion of the population experiencing crime, 132 excluding vehicle-related car crime (1993) (%) 6.5 Proportion of the population feeling unsafe on the 132 streets (1993) (%) 6.6 Proportion of the population worried about specific types 133 of crime (1993) (%) 6.7 Proportion of the population experiencing non-criminal 134 harms (1993) (%) 6.8 Proportion of the population worried about non-criminal 135 harms (1993) (%) 7.1 All cause mortality by cumulative social class and 142 deprivation category 7.2 Income inequality around 1980 and labour productivity 150 growth between 1979 and 1990 9.1 Population registered to vote varies between areas for 184 equal population 9.2 People’s chance of dying below the age of 65 185 9.3 Excess deaths and voting patterns 186 9.4 The Labour Party and decile group voting 188 vi Preface The idea for this book arose out of the Radical Statistics’ annual conference which was held in Bristol in February 1998. The conference, on tackling inequalities, attracted a record audience and, disappointingly, numbers were such that people were turned away.