Access All Areas: An Assessment Of Social Inclusion Measures In Scottish Local Transport Strategies

Social Exclusion and Poverty in Rural Areas of Britain

Also see Public Transport News and Features. Also see Rural Transport News and Features. Also see Transport Modelling News and Features. Also see Transport Policy News and Features. What We Do We specialise in making connections between people and places. National Accessibility Statistics , ongoing — The accessibility statistics are published annually as part of national statistics to show the travel time to key services from each part of England.

The publication faced new challenges from the use of new data sources and inputs to the national review of statistics Accessibility Indicators. DHC also now publishes indicators in a variety of other formats to support development and transport planning. Contact us for further details.

Experimental National Connectivity Statistics — DfT had committed to publishing connectivity statistics so DHC assisted with this work by calculating experimental statistics and advising on potential data and analysis approaches. In a paper on accessibility planning , the difficult history of the use and abuse of accessibility indicators is reviewed. In the UK appraisal body SACTRA highlighted that many claims about access to jobs were tactical as part of road scheme promotion and not supported by evidence. In this latest paper DHC Director Derek Halden shows how a more rigorous treatment of accessibility is leading to practical uses and helping to cut out the abuses of accessibility measures.

Smart Access Solutions — DHC has developed a pioneering approach to make connections between information, payment and sustainable travel choices. Road Congestion impacts on accessibility — The core accessibility indicators are published as part of national statistics to show the travel time to key services from each part of England. Calculation of Core National Accessibility Indicators — The indicators seek to link local and national practice more closely to build on the progress already made supporting in delivering Local Area Agreements across England.

State of the Countryside Accessibility Analysis — The State of the Countryside report uses analysis by DHC to show how for some services accessibility by road and public transport has been improving, but for others there has been a decline. The Changing Face of Rural Services. Access to Services in Wales — Analysis using GPS tracking of vehicles shows that congestion affects access to services for different house addresses in different ways.

Journey times were calculated to the nearest 10 destinations for nine service types for 23 time periods throughout the day. Travel times to airports — This analysis for the DfT looked at the choices available to residents of the UK when accessing airports by public transport and various times of day and night. The largest airports do not always have the best public transport services.

This showed the choices that customers face when deciding which station to use when accessing the national rail network. The work ensures that access to the rail network is included more accurately resulting in more robust modelling of rail travel demand. Calculation of Core National Accessibility Indicators — The indicators introduce a wider range of indicator types to add flexibility to the use of the national indicators and build on the progress already made supporting in delivering Local Area Agreements across England.

Wales Indicators of Multiple Deprivation — DHC developed previous work conducted for the Welsh Assembly Government, calculating new accessibility indicators which will be used as part of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Consumer needs for access to market based services — This project for the National Consumer Council investigated how current accessibility planning frameworks might be revised to better improve access to privately provided services.

Calculation of Core National Accessibility Indicators — This work for the Department for Transport is calculating accessibility indicators for national priority target groups and trip purposes. The work combines many data sets including public transport, OS Mastermap, education, health, shopping and jobs data. Access to Services in East Dunbartonshire — DHC helped the Council to develop plans to improve access to health, work and other services for priority groups within the area. By working within community planning structures for stakeholder involvement the project developed an accessibility plan to tackle current and growing problems.

Making connections between policy-driven and data-driven approaches to accessibility problems. Improving Accessibility and Social Inclusion for Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen Airports — BAA Scottish Airports commissioned this work as part of their site travel planning to identify how to improve access to employment opportunities and catchments for the airports. This investigated how cost barriers faced by different groups of people could be considered more effectively in transport and accessibility planning. The work reviewed data sources to identify the barriers and problems, and different ways of tackling identified problems.

This investigated how transport reliability barriers faced by different groups of people could be considered more effectively in transport and accessibility planning. This investigated how crime and the fear of crime could be better understood, researching piloting measures to tackle barriers to travel as part of a local accessibility plan.

Appraisal of Laurencekirk station reopening PDF, KB — DHC assisted Scott Wilson in the appraisal of the reopening of this station in Aberdeenshire, by developing an accessibility model for North East Scotland and appraising economic development and accessibility impacts. Accessibility audit for public transport plan in Aberdeen — This work, for Aberdeen City Council, examined the accessibility impacts of an interchange at Foresterhill healthcare campus.

The accessibility implications of potential changes to bus services and the development of a major new interchange were analysed. The work examined options for hospital relocation by mapping the accessibility of alternative options. The work supported the development of guidance for English local authorities on accessibility planning processes.

The work clarified how accessibility fits within appraisal and, provided examples of best practice in analysing accessibility and distributional issues. Accessibility Analysis for the New Transport Initiative in Edinburgh This project audited the equity impacts of the road charging proposals in Edinburgh. By looking at geographical areas and people groups affected by the proposals, recommendations were made on the transport projects necessary to deliver a more equitable scheme. Development of an Accessibility Model for Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive — This project with Steer Davis Gleave assessed accessibility modelling needs for SPT, and specified how these could be met through the development of an accessibility model.

As part of the development of the national spatial strategy in Wales this research reviewed data availability and accessibility measuring techniques that could be used in land use planning by each tier of government. Strategic Accessibility Analysis for the Edinburgh and Lothians Structure Plan — This work was used to define an integrated approach to land use and transport for the new Structure Plan taking account of economic and social policy aims. Quantitative accessibility measures were used to compare development locations and transport investment options.

Rural Accessibility — This project for the Scottish Executive involved the development of a robust appraisal methodology for rural transport investment through the Rural Transport Funding Initiative and Rural Community Transport Funding Initiative.

Accessibility Planning

It involved research to understand rural travel behaviour and identify how practical and affordable improvements can be delivered. Review of Accessibility Measuring techniques and their Application — To support the joint needs of the Scottish Executive planning policy and transport policy departments the project reviewed options for measuring accessibility and their implementation in national policy. The work included software development for indicator calculation and preparation of national guidance on accessibility planning techniques.

Developing a Community Transport Strategy in the Highlands — Our work has assisted the Council consult with local interested parties as part of the development of a new strategy for CT. The report defines a new approach for appraising community and social benefits in transport appraisal. Dundee Community Transport — This project for Dundee Accessible Transport Forum assessed how to deliver affordable door to door transport for older and disabled people in Dundee.

The work is seeking to foster a viable and sustainable approach to rural transport by growing the Community Transport sector in the area. Developing Community Transport in Glasgow — This work was undertaken for Glasgow City Council to identify how the Community Transport sector could become more successful at closing gaps in transport provision in Glasgow. Community Transport and Social Inclusion — Project for the Department for Transport, with TAS Partnership, to understanding the extent and contribution of community transport to social inclusions and ways that this can be better evaluated and monitored in the future.

Merseyside Demand Responsive Transport Review PDF, 60KB — Examined the operation of dial-a-ride, joblink, taxi and other existing demand responsive services in Merseyside and made recommendations for improvements. In contrast, social exclusion is seen as a multi-dimensional, dynamic process which refers to the breakdown or malfunctioning of the major systems in society that should guarantee the social integration of the individual or household Berghman, It also acknowledges the importance of the local context in such processes. Thus, while the notion of poverty is distributional, the concept of social exclusion is relational.

In a similar approach to Kesteloot , Duffy and Meert , Reimer argues that it is helpful to distinguish the dimensions of social exclusion according to the different means through which resources are allocated in society. He proposes four systems, however, which capture better the different processes which operate.

They are as follows: Private systems, representing market processes 2. State systems, incorporating authority structures with bureaucratic and legal processes 3. Voluntary systems, encompassing collective action processes 4. Family and friends networks, a system associated with reciprocal and cultural processes.

Indeed some have argued that these form the basis of citizenship. In pre-modern times a person belonged entirely to one social setting: In this way the individual has emerged as a separate social unit that must coordinate activities in diverse social spheres that are differentiated by function. Thus, Polanyi argued that the main form of transaction other than the market is reciprocity based on mutual affection and love, most notably within the family or household 3.

Such a conceptualisation of social exclusion in terms of the means by which resources and status are allocated in society in turn requires an analysis of the exercise of power. Labour markets and housing markets were instrumental in generating inequality and exclusion, with many respondents perceiving very restricted opportunities for well-paid, secure employment or for affordable housing, while at the same time these markets enabled affluent households to move into rural areas.

Young people and women tended to have the fewest options. These impediments to inclusion were closely bound up with failings of private and public services, most notably transport, social housing and childcare. Moreover, the welfare state was patently failing to reach potential recipients and the take-up of benefit entitlements was low. Access to advice and information in distant urban centres was problematic, and respondents were often confused about the benefits available and their entitlement. To mitigate these failings of markets and state, there was a greater reliance on the voluntary sector which was itself under pressure as volunteers - mainly women - declined in number and on friends and family.

However, migration and the loss of young people, also related to housing and labour market processes, ruptured informal support networks and left elderly people socially isolated. This analysis is elaborated in Philip and Shucksmith The way in which social exclusion has been conceptualised in this section holds out the hope of being able to connect the macro-level forces which operate to structure disadvantage and inequality with the microlevel experience of individuals in rural areas - that is, of being able to relate history to biography.

The remaining sections of this paper examine in more detail a number of arenas income and employment, welfare benefits, and access to housing with which to illustrate the operation, and interaction, of these systems of inclusion and exclusion. Yet, it is not enough to count the numbers and describe the characteristics of the socially excluded.

In rural areas there had been very little, if any, research of this type until this programme. For example, we had no knowledge of whether those individuals found to be experiencing poverty in rural England in were the same people identified in a survey in Were we dealing with short spells of poverty experienced by many people in rural society, or long spells of poverty experienced only by a small minority? This is of fundamental importance not only in terms of individual strategies but also in terms of the degree of solidarity within society.

Car dependency, market and state allocation of housing, labour markets, education, training, childcare, family and friends are all relevant to these people, who live in rural Scotland, and structure the choices open to them and the quality of their lives. Jane has embarked upon a degree course at the nearest college, and has been awarded a grant.

Although there is a local bus service, she would need to take several buses in order to get to college, with a lengthy journey each way. Because she is a single parent, Jane could not leave home on the only morning bus since she has to get her child ready for school, and in the evenings after school she would have to pay a childminder. As a result, Jane has had to buy a car, which she cannot really afford, and it is old and unreliable, requiring a lot of maintenance. Jane struggles to survive, and she feels that her grant would go a lot further if she were not living in the village, but also feels that she should not be forced to move away from family support and the school in which her child is settled.

They do not have a large income, but as they live a spartan lifestyle and almost never go out, they can survive on what they have. They were unable to afford a car until five years ago, even though they are nearing retirement age, and this has been a barrier to Margaret seeking employment. They rarely go on holiday, and Margaret has never been out of Scotland. They know they will never be able to afford to buy a house, and will have to seek social housing, perhaps far away in a town.

Despite this favourable comparison, prosperity is far from universal in rural Britain: Moreover, gross income inequalities intensified in both rural and non rural areas over that period, which was characterised by major economic restructuring and cuts in public spending driven by the neo-liberal policies of the Conservative government.

The over 60 age group was significantly more likely to suffer persistent low income whether in rural or non rural areas. Richer people are moving into, and poorer people are moving out of, rural areas so causing a progressive gentrification of the countryside. Related research by Bate, Best and Holmans confirms that there is a socially-selective and age-selective drift out of the towns and cities to the suburbs and rural areas, with only the relatively wealthy achieving the widespread dream of a house in the country, while the less well-off can only move to the outer or inner suburbs, or remain in the inner city.

This issue, and the power relations which underlie it, are discussed further below. The results also suggest that migration from rural areas does not increase the probability of escaping from low income, and in fact may increase the chances that an individual moves back onto a low income, at least temporarily.

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Overall, migration is associated with an increase in both upward and downward income mobility. A far smaller proportion of exits from rural poverty are accompanied by an increase in the number of earners in the household, or by a change in household composition. This distinctive pattern is repeated when entry into poverty is considered, being associated far less in rural areas with a fall in the number of earners eg. The research found only a weak relationship between low income and low pay, and far more association between poverty and detachment from labour markets, despite the low levels of registered unemployment.

Few of those on low incomes in rural areas are low paid, because few are in work. The greatest number are older people. Of those of working age on low income in rural Britain, only 22 per cent are in employment; 23 per cent are self-employed far more than in non-rural areas ; 13 per cent are unemployed; and 41 per cent are detached from the labour market in other ways e. The composition of low income households differed significantly between rural and non-rural areas with, for example, the self-employed a much more significant component of rural low income households than is found in non-rural areas.

The processes behind these statistics are discussed in detail in the next section, but it can be seen that they derive from the global penetration of local labour and product markets, state privatisation and deregulation. The most challenging finding of the research on disadvantage in rural Scotland Shucksmith et al. Most looked back on the improvements since their own childhood, when they lacked running water, electricity and TVs, and so could not conceive of themselves as poor. This is reinforced by the obstacle of the rural idyll.

Those values which are at the heart of the rural idyll result in the poor tolerating their material deprivation because of the priority given to those symbols of the rural idyll: And when that material deprivation becomes so chronic by the standard of the area that it has to be recognised by the poor themselves, shame forces secrecy and the management of that poverty within the smallest possible framework Overcoming resistance to these entitlements is a fundamental task for those seeking to tackle social exclusion. Most poor people seek a full-time job as a route out of poverty, although this mode of escape is denied to many on account of their age, lack of skills, or childcare commitments.

Are there additional obstacles facing those in rural areas, on account of their small community, or the distances involved, perhaps? Persistent unemployment is less common but persistent low pay is more widespread in rural than in non-rural areas Chapman et al. The relatively low escape rate from low pay for individuals employed in small workplaces, combined with their dominance in rural employment, suggests that a lack of mobility from microbusinesses in rural areas may be an important explanatory factor.

This was confirmed in the qualitative work by Monk et al. They found the following bridges and barriers to labour market participation:. Structure of local labour markets - mismatches between jobs and skills. Inaccessibility between home and workplace, and especially car-dependency. Costs of participating in the labour market - childcare, eldercare and the benefits trap. Childcare solutions - usually informal eg. For others it is the level and take-up of state benefits which offers the only prospect of escaping low income.

Much of this took the form of premature early retirement and in particular a diversion from unemployment to long-term sickness. More recently these authors Breeze et al. Their principal conclusion is that while New Deal addresses the supply side of labour market integration, it is demand side problems i.

The other distinctively rural barrier to finding work, found in this study, is transport, experienced by those without regular access to a car and especially by those without a driving licence. The authors suggested that New Deal in rural areas should support access to cars among those looking for work. There is no evidence of welfare dependency in rural areas, and on the contrary people are eager to find work.

There is, though, evidence that low levels of wages combine with means-tested benefits and other costs transport and childcare to create significant disincentives to accept work. To address this benefits trap it is Social exclusion and poverty in rural areas of Britain insufficient to focus on the supply side of the labour market: However there is clear evidence that take-up rates are lower in rural areas Gordon et al.

The study of disadvantage in rural Scotland Shucksmith et al. Respondents were often confused about the benefits that were available and their entitlement. Access to advice in urban centres was problematic, with benefit offices seen as highly intimidating quite apart from the social stigma of claiming. Other studies in the UK have confirmed these findings. Individuals were reluctant to claim benefit, seeking instead a second or third job, or preferring to live a more spartan existence.

Apart from culture, there is a lack of anonymity in collecting benefits usually at the village post office and a greater distance to, and general paucity of, information and advice about eligibility for benefits. Social housing is lacking in rural areas, whereas in urban areas it offers an effective channel for information on benefits and rights to reach those eligible for state support. There is therefore a considerable challenge in attempting to increase the uptake of benefit entitlement in rural areas.

Equally, improved uptake could make a powerful impact on poverty in rural areas.

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Policy and practice in rural areas was secondary, departmentalised and ad hoc. Nevertheless, there was strength in the energy and skills of the many people working with voluntary agencies, which compensated for the shortcomings of the state systems and for this lack of integration. They concluded that the fundamental structures for improving advice and information in rural areas exist. What was needed was a more strategic approach and a rural focus, rather than major restructuring or a major shift in policy. The level of the pension is therefore of overwhelming importance to their income levels and to their quality of life.

Increasing the basic level of pensions is the single measure which would have the greatest impact in addressing poverty and social exclusion in rural areas. In addition, a special effort is required to reach elderly people relying only on state pensions and unaware or unconvinced of their welfare entitlements, and to inform them of these in a sensitive and appropriate way. Specific policy changes also impact adversely on elderly people in rural areas, such as increased fuel prices and the diversion of business from sub post offices, and thought should be given to how to mitigate such effects.

This social group is highly reliant on state systems, and to a decreasing extent on friends and family. It is also crucial to the life chances of many of the less prosperous members of rural societies, and to the socially inclusive character of the countryside. Unfortunately, affordable housing is sadly lacking in many rural areas of Britain.

The Countryside Agency and many others have identified the lack of affordable housing as the most important issue facing rural communities in England, and there is equally compelling evidence from Scotland and Wales. Lack of affordable housing not only affects individuals and families, but also undermines the achievement of balanced, sustainable, rural communities. The RDC believes that there is an urgent need to tackle the problems of providing affordable housing in rural areas to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of suitable housing for rural people.

Without action now rural England will increasingly be home only to the more affluent, and living, working villages will become a thing of the past. To understand better the lack of affordable housing in rural Britain, and the related social exclusion and social changes, one needs to consider the nature of, and influences on, the demand, supply and stock of housing in rural areas, and the roles of all four systems of market, state, voluntary, and family and friends. While there are important variations from one area to another in the ways in which these forces operate documented in a classification of housing markets in rural England by Shucksmith et al.