Research report: 11 Equality issues in Wales: a research review Victoria Winckler (editor) The Bevan Foundation Equality issues in Wales: a research review Victoria Winckler (editor) The Bevan Foundation © Equality and Human Rights Commission 2009 First published Spring 2009 ISBN 978 1 84206 089 6 Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report Series The Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report Series publishes research carried out for the Commission by commissioned researchers. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission. The Commission is publishing the report as a contribution to discussion and debate. Please contact the Research Team for further information about other Equality and Human Rights Commission’s research reports, or visit our website: Research Team Equality and Human Rights Commission Arndale House Arndale Centre Manchester M4 3AQ Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0161 829 8500 Website: www.equalityhumanrights.com You can download a copy of this report as a PDF from our website: www.equalityhumanrights.com/researchreports If you require this publication in an alternative format, please contact the Communications Team to discuss your needs at: [email protected] CONTENTS Page CHAPTER AUTHORS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 This Report 1 1.2 Demography of Wales 2 1.3 Governance of Wales 12 1.4 Devolution and Equality 13 1.5 Conclusion 17 2. POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION 18 2.1 Policy Context 18 2.2 Household Income and Poverty 19 2.3 Benefits and Pensions 28 2.4 Savings, Credit and Debt, and Financial Exclusion 31 2.5 Water and Fuel Poverty 35 2.6 Digital Inclusion 37 2.7 Culture, Leisure and Sport 38 2.8 Access to Advice, Support and Justice 42 2.9 Transport 44 2.10 Conclusions and Research Gaps 51 3. EMPLOYMENT AND THE LABOUR MARKET 53 3.1 Policy Context 53 3.2 Economic Activity and Inactivity 54 3.3 Unemployment 62 3.4 Self-employment 63 3.5 Pay 68 3.6 Industrial and Occupational Segregation 72 3.7 Flexible Working 80 3.8 Fair Treatment 84 3.9 Trades Union Membership 90 3.10 Welsh Language Issues 91 3.11 Conclusions and Research Gaps 91 4. HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 92 4.1 Policy Context 92 4.2 Health Status 95 4.3 Access to Health and Social Care Services 104 4.4 Lifestyle 112 4.5 Social Care 119 4.6 Conclusions and Research Gaps 125 Page 5. EDUCATION 128 5.1 Policy Context 129 5.2 Early Years 133 5.3 Primary and Secondary School Education 134 5.4 16–19 School Education 150 5.5 Further and Higher Education 153 5.6 Adult Education and Training 156 5.7 Conclusions and Research Gaps 160 6. HOUSING 162 6.1 Policy Context 162 6.2 Housing Needs 166 6.3 Provision and Experience of Housing Services 173 6.4 Conclusions and Research Gaps 176 7. PUBLIC AND POLITICAL LIFE 178 7.1 Policy Context 178 7.2 Elected Representatives 181 7.3 Public Appointments 185 7.4 Citizen Engagement 187 7.5 Community Cohesion 193 7.6 Conclusions and Research Gaps 197 8. CONCLUSIONS 198 REFERENCES 201 CHAPTER AUTHORS Victoria Winckler Bevan Foundation Siân Gale Pawb Siobhan McClelland University of Glamorgan Anita Naoko Pilgrim University of Glamorgan Tamsin Stirling Independent Housing Consultant i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the help and advice of many voluntary and community organisations in Wales and of the Office of the Chief Social Research Officer in the Welsh Assembly Government. Grateful thanks are also due to David Perfect, Amelia John and Jennifer Dunne at the Equality and Human Rights Commission for their advice and support and, above all, patience during the preparation of this report. We would also like to thank the copy editor, Rachael Bolden, for her thorough editing of the report. Notwithstanding their considerable help, the responsibility for any errors or omissions rests with the authors. ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction This report sets out the findings of a review of literature on research and statistics on equality in Wales, defined by various Acts of Parliament as: • Race • Gender • Disability • Age • Sexual orientation • Religion. The review was commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in December 2007 and covers literature which related specifically to Wales only. It included academic, government and third sector research published between 2000 and October 2008 and focused mainly on all-Wales rather than local studies.1 Demography of Wales Wales is increasingly diverse. Approximately 2 per cent of the population is from an ethnic minority group (62,000 people), amongst whom 29 per cent is of mixed origin. There are very roughly 10,000 refugees and 2,500 asylum seekers in Wales, 55,000 non-UK born workers, and between 1,400 and 2,000 Gypsy Travellers. Women marginally outnumber men overall – 1,521,100 females to 1,444,900 males – but substantially do so amongst older age groups. By 2026, 29 per cent of the population is expected to be over 60 years old. Disability and limiting long-term ill health affect approximately 27 per cent of the adult population and 5 per cent of the child population. One in five of the population has no religious faith. Amongst believers, Christians are by far the largest group (2.087 million people), followed by Muslims (less than 22,000 people). There are no data on sexual orientation. Almost 30 per cent of the population have some knowledge of the Welsh language (18 per cent can read, speak and write Welsh). 1 A few earlier sources than 2000 have also been covered. iii EQUALITY ISSUES IN WALES: A RESEARCH REVIEW Governance of Wales The key bodies in Wales are the Welsh Assembly Government, which has devolved powers on education, health, economic development, transport and the environment and other matters; 22 unitary local authorities; 22 local health boards and 7 NHS trusts (to be merged into 7 integrated bodies in 2009); 23 colleges of further education and 12 higher education establishments, as well as many other Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies. Devolution and equality Responsibility for equality in Wales is complex. Although equality is not formally devolved, the Government of Wales Act 1998 requires the Welsh Assembly Government to have due regard to equality of opportunity for all people. This requirement has been enhanced by subsequent legislation on public bodies’ race, gender and disability duties. Although there has been a great deal of activity, there is evidence that equality has yet to be mainstreamed into all the Assembly Government’s business, whilst other public bodies’ compliance with their equality responsibilities appears to be low. Poverty and Social Exclusion The evidence on poverty and social exclusion is fragmented, and suffers from methodological problems e.g. high refusal rates and inconsistent definitions. Nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that ethnic minority groups, women, disabled people, children and young people and older people experience poverty and social exclusion to a greater extent than other groups. However, there is almost no evidence on religion and sexual orientation. Household income and poverty Evidence on income and poverty is very uneven. By far the greatest information concerns child and pensioner poverty, which shows about 26 per cent of children and 18 per cent of pensioners live in income-poor households, with a smaller but still substantial proportion of both groups also lacking ‘necessities’. In contrast there is little or no information on poverty and race, gender or disability, nor on religion and sexual orientation. Benefits and pensions The few studies of benefits and pensions are fragmented and outdated, making it impossible to draw conclusions. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Savings, credit and debt and financial exclusion Older people, households with dependent children and some female age groups are most likely to have no savings, whilst younger people and men are more likely to have access to credit and to make use of credit. However, debt is also greater amongst younger people. Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people report high levels of dissatisfaction with financial services. There is no evidence on race, disability or religion. Water and fuel poverty Fuel poverty is concentrated amongst vulnerable groups which include households with an older person, child or disabled person. We found no evidence on race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. Digital inclusion Evidence shows that older people are much less likely than other age groups to have access to digital technologies or to use the internet. We found no evidence on digital inclusion by other equality strands. Culture, leisure and sport The evidence is very fragmented. Disabled people face particular difficulties accessing services whilst the issues for young people are time and transport. There is little research on any of the other equality strands. Access to advice, support and justice A number of studies show a lack of access to advice, support and justice for ethnic minority groups, disabled and young people. However there is no evidence on gender, older people, sexual orientation or religion. Transport Ethnic minority groups, women, disabled people, older people and children and young people are all less likely to have access to a private car than other people, and consequently rely on public transport. Yet women with children, older people and disabled people can find buses hard to use. No relevant evidence on religion or sexual orientation was identified. Economy and Labour Market The evidence on equality in the economy and labour market is relatively extensive, albeit with some gaps. Certain ethnic minority groups, women, disabled people, and older people experience marked inequality in the economy and labour market, across a range of different measures.