Transcript Slide 1

Combating child poverty and social
exclusion in the EU and promoting the
well-being of children
Patricia Hoyos, Policy Officer
Impact of Poverty and Social Exclusion on
Children’s Lives and their Well-being
8 - 9 September 2008, Bratislava, Slovakia
Eurochild AISBL
 Eurochild is an international non-profit-making network
of 54 full members and 12 associate and honorary
members from 27 European countries
 Eurochild’s objectives are to promote the rights and
well-being of children and young people by influencing
policy at European level and strengthening members’
capacity to influence policy at national levels
 Eurochild has a strong commitment to empowering
children and young people to participate in these
processes
 Eurochild is co-funded by the European Commission
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Eurochild’s work
 Anchored in the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
 Presumes children to be young citizens who have a right
to be heard and who can make a contribution to society
 Makes a critical connection between child poverty, social
exclusion and the ability to exercise rights
 Identifies the shared responsibility of families and the
state to enable children to exercise those rights
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Combating poverty and social exclusion in the EU and
promoting the well-being of children
The presentation will be in 3 parts:
 a profile of child poverty in the EU
 the EU social inclusion policy context
 how Eurochild contributes to the child poverty
agenda
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
How many children live in poverty in the EU?
 19 millon children - an average of 19% of the child population –
live below the poverty threshold compared to an average of 16% for
the total population
 Child poverty in the EU is measured as “at-risk-of-poverty”. The risk
threshold is set at 60% of the national median household income.
Rates are calculated after social transfers
 In almost half of the EU countries, the risk of poverty for children is
above 20%, ranging from 9-10 % in Nordic countries to 27% in
Lithuania and 29% in Portugal. In Slovakia the average is reported
as 19%
Source: Eurostat – EU-SILC survey year 2005
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
What are the standards of living of “poor” children?
 Wide variations across the EU
 Corrected for the differences in the cost of living – that is,
expressed in Purchasing Power Standards - national
poverty thresholds range from 263 PPS in Romania to
350-420 PPS in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, to around
1850 PPS in Austria and the UK, to 2866 PPS in
Luxembourg
Source: EU-SILC (2005) income ref year 2004
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
What are the trends in child poverty in the EU?
 OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development) recently ran a specific data collection to
estimate trends in poverty rates since the early 1990s
 In most OECD/EU countries, child poverty either
remained stable or showed signs of increase
 Only in 4 countries did child poverty show signs of
decline (Austria, Hungary, Spain, UK)
Source: OECD working paper: Child poverty in OED countries:
trends, causes and policy response (to be published)
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
Which children are most vulnerable?
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Households most at risk of poverty are lone parent households
and large families (3 or more children)
50% of EU children living in poverty live in these two types of
households; 23% in lone parent households; 27% in large families
Joblessness represents the main risk of poverty for households
with children; almost 50% of children living in a jobless household
live in a lone parent household
In-work poverty remains an issue in the majority of EU countries
Source: Child poverty and well-being in the EU: EC 2008
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
What are the consequences of growing up in poverty?
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Less likely to do well in school
Less likely to enjoy good health
Less likely to stay out of the criminal justice system
Less likely to integrate into the labour market
Consequently:
 Damaging effects on future life opportunities
 Damaging effects on potential to contribute to society
Source: Child poverty and well-being in the EU: EC 2008
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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
How do we measure the impact of poverty and social
exclusion on children’s well-being?
“....what we really seek to know is whether children are adequately
clothed and housed and fed and protected; whether their
circumstances are such that they are likely to become all that they
are capable of becoming; ....whether they are disadvantaged in
ways that make it difficult or impossible for them to participate fully in
the life and opportunities of the world around them.....whether
children feel loved, cherished, special and supported, within the
family and community.......whether the family and community are
being supported in this task by public policy and resources”
Source: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 7:
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An overview of child well-being in rich countries (2007
1. A profile of child poverty in the EU
What are the dimensions of child well-being?
 UNICEF Report Card 7 provides a comprehensive assessment of
the lives and well-being of children in 21 countries of the
industrialised world
 Child well-being is measured under six different dimensions:
material well-being; health and safety; education; peer and
family relationships; behaviours and risks; children’s own
subjective sense of well-being
 No country did well on all six dimensions; no one dimension stands
as a reliable proxy for child well-being as a whole
Source: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 7:
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An overview of child well-being in rich countries (2007
2. The EU social inclusion policy context
National Strategy Reports on Social Protection and Social Inclusion
(NSRSPSI)
 A key part of the EU’s Open Method of Coordination (OMC)
established at the Lisbon European Council in 2000
 Since the 2006-2008 round of plans, the three separate processes
of social inclusion – pensions - health care have been brought
together into one overall process
 Plans still retain their distinctiveness; the social inclusion strand of
the NSRSPSI is the National Action Plan on social inclusion
(NAP/Inclusion)
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2. The EU social inclusion policy context
The Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion
 Each year the EC and the Employment, Social Policy, Health and
Consumer Affairs Council adopt a Joint Report on Social Protection
and Social Inclusion, proposed by the EC
 The Joint Report examines and reports on the National
Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion
 The Joint Report is submitted to the Spring European Council to
inform Heads of State on progress in the areas of social protection
and social inclusion
 The European Council makes recommendations to Member
States for action in these policy areas
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2. The EU social inclusion policy context
Child Poverty and the NAPs/Inclusion
 At the Spring Summit of 2006, Heads of State called on Member
States to “take necessary measures to rapidly and significantly
reduce child poverty, giving all children equal opportunities,
regardless of their social background”
 Member States and the EC responded with clear commitments to
break the cycle of deprivation and the majority of Member States
made Child Poverty a priority in the 2006-2008 NAPs/Inclusion
 In 2007, child poverty was selected as a key theme for further work
to deepen the understanding of the complexity of the issues
 Key lessons are reflected in a number of important reports, amongst
which is the Social Protection Committee (SPC) Report: Child
poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way
forward (2008)
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2. The EU social inclusion policy context
Child poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way forward
 Three parts: evaluative review of child poverty in the EU; policy
monitoring and assessment of child well-being in Member States;
conclusions and recommendations for better monitoring and
assessing child poverty and well-being at EU and national levels
 Member States encouraged to take account of the report in the
preparation of 2008-2010 NAPs/Inclusion
 A key point is that strategies to reduce child poverty must be
based on a sound diagnosis of causes – and specific
objectives set which relate to the key factors identified
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2. The EU social inclusion policy context
Child poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way forward
 No quantitative targets to reduce child poverty proposed, but
Member States encouraged to develop quantified objectives
(Social Ministers Council March 2008) – body of knowledge now
available should support this
 Indicators not yet developed for dimensions of child well-being that
relate to health, education, exposure to risk and risk behaviour,
social participation and family environment, local environment
but further work on qualitative indicators of child well-being planned
 Child poverty will continue to be a priority in the EU social
inclusion process and this is expected to be reflected in the
NAPs/Inclusion 2008-2010
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3. How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty
agenda
• Monitoring NAPs/Inclusion to provide specialist input on child
poverty and exclusion
• Contributions to the OMC through participation in peer review
seminars;
• Participation in Round Table conferences on social inclusion;
• Eurochild conferences and seminars;
• Responses to EC consultation documents;
• ‘ad hoc’ briefing papers for MEPs;
• Position papers to support advocacy work at EU and national levels;
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How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty agenda
Monitoring the NAPs/Inclusion
 Monitoring the NAPs/Inclusion since 2004, producing reports for the EC with
recommendations for action
 A comprehensive report in 2007 on the 2006-2008 NAPS/Inclusion based
on country analyses of 27 Member States’ reports. Key recommendations
included: the need for quantifiable targets to reduce the number of children
living in income poverty; the need to address child poverty within the
framework of the UNCRC; need to develop an indicator or set of indicators
that are non-income related, specific to children and informed by their
perceptions of need
 Slovakia has been an active participant in NAPs/Inclusion monitoring since
2004 and produced a detailed report on the situation of Slovakian children
for the 2007 analysis (available in handout)
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How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty agenda
2008-2010 NAPs/Inclusion
 Guidance and lobby letters for members to influence the planning
process
 Preparation of a ‘toolkit’ for members participating in the assessment
of plans to provide a framework for comment on: the quality of the
preparation process and whether it has involved stakeholders,
including children; whether the situation of children is accurately
reflected and key challenges identified; whether policy measures are
appropriate and resources adequately matched to policy objectives;
monitoring and evaluation arrangements; governance
 Production of a 2008-2010 NAPS/Inclusion Report
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Child poverty and children’s rights
 On 16th January 2008, the European Parliament adopted the EC
Communication (2006) Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child
 This links the promotion of children’s rights to the EU social inclusion
process and the reduction of child poverty
 The participation of children in the EU Child Rights Forum will enable their
voice to be heard directly in matters that affect their well-being
 On July 2008 the Commission issued its Communication on a “Renewed
social agenda: Opportunities, access and solidarity in 21st century Europe»
aiming to strengthen the current EU social agenda by supporting action in
seven priority areas including children and youth.
 The communication aims to strengthen the OMC by increasing political
commitment and visibility, strengthening the links with other EU policies and
Enhancing analytical tools and evidence base and by stimulating monitoring
and peer review by Members States.
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Thank you for your attention
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