In our wealthy nation, it’s unjust that so many people don’t have adequate incomes for a dignified life.

The inadequacies of our social security safety net and labour market have been illuminated by the Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis. Scotland has seen a rising tide of poverty and inequality as people struggle to make ends meet.

One of the policy solutions that has emerged in response to these issues has been the Minimum Income Guarantee - an idea centred on setting an income floor below which nobody would be allowed to fall. It’s a simple, but potentially transformative idea, that would help give everyone a secure foundation to thrive and develop their potential.

Achieving the Minimum Income Guarantee requires reform to our social security system, labour market and public services – all of which are areas of interest for the anti-poverty movement.

The Poverty Alliance conference will be an opportunity to explore why a Minimum Income Guarantee is needed, looking at key aspects of the current poverty problem in Scotland. We will also seek to identify priority actions that would take us closer to a Minimum Income Guarantee across social security; fair work; and public services, with the aim of identifying key shared campaigning priorities.

This is a chance to discuss the impact of poverty among your communities and the people you support, as well as shaping the development of the Minimum Income Guarantee in Scotland.

Plenaries

Morning plenary – welcome and introductions 10.00-11.00

Why do we need a Minimum Income Guarantee and how do we get there?

Welcome - Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance

Keynote address, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP

Opening remarks, Polly Jones, Head of Scotland, The Trussell Trust

Opening remarks, Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Panel Q&A

Afternoon plenary 14.45-16.00

Making Our Route Map to the MIG

Our final session will be an interactive session where we build on the discussions in the afternoon campaign workshops to map out our route to achieving the MIG. We will all have different roles to play, in our communities, our organisations, our networks, in contributing to securing the MIG. This session will help clarify what our own role could be, and how we can commit to securing the MIG. During this session we will work in small groups to identify challenges and opportunities, and will close by making close by making our individual commitments.

Workshops

Morning – Why do we need a MIG and what are the initial steps to get there? (11.20-12.25)

Setting out why the MIG is needed, including exploring particular aspects of the current poverty problem. These sessions will establish why the MIG is needed – what is the case for this change?

1. Debt: Ensuring the MIG is not undermined by public sector debt recovery

Too often, people are pulled into impossible financial circumstances due to debt. The subsequent repayments force people into being unable to afford the essentials such as heating, food and transport with consequences for people’s health and wellbeing. Currently, our inadequate social security net is being further undermined by deductions. This workshop will explore how we can ensure that a MIG does things differently, giving everyone access to a secure and adequate income.

Emma Jackson, Scotland Director, Christians Against Poverty

Martin Canavan, Head of Policy and Participation, Aberlour

2. Achieving an adequate income in rural Scotland

We know that one of the key drivers of poverty in rural Scotland is the higher cost of living. The rural poverty premium means that the cost of essentials like fuel, energy, transport and food are significantly higher, increasing hardship for those struggling on low incomes. This workshop will look at how an understanding of the rural poverty premium should influence plans for a MIG so we can ensure a MIG delivers for all of Scotland’s communities.

Artemis Pana, National Co-ordinator, Scottish Rural Action

Polly Chapman – Impact Hub Inverness (TBC)

3. Securing financial security for all: Achieving a Minimum Income Guarantee for people in asylum system

The policy focus on developing a minimum income guarantee has so far lacked a consideration of what this could mean for asylum seekers and people with no recourse to public funds. Receiving just £45 a week, and not entitled to access support through the social security system, asylum seekers are a group furthest away from being able to access their economic, cultural and social rights. This workshop will be facilitated by people with lived experience of the asylum system and will explore how a MIG in Scotland could provide an adequate and secure income for asylum seekers.

Poverty Alliance Rights in Action Community Researchers

4. Improving health: Can Radical Income Policies Make an impact?

People who are worse off experience poorer physical and mental health than those who are better off. But could improving peoples’ financial situations lead to improved health? In this interactive workshop, we will discuss the evidence surrounding this question and invite you to design your own radical income policy aimed at improving the health of people in Scotland. What kind of changes will your policy deliver – will you increase people’s incomes, or reduce their costs? Who will receive this support? Will there be conditions attached? And how will you prioritise these features of your policy if you have to trade one for the other?

Dr Gillian Fergie and Dr Olivia Hamilton, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

Lunch (12.30-13.30)

• Poverty Alliance AGM – 30 minutes over lunch (13.00-13.30)

Afternoon: Establishing our campaigning goals (13.35-14.35)

The afternoon sessions will be focused on identifying our campaigning priorities across a range of key themes:

1. Ensuring the Minimum Income Guarantee tackles poverty and inequality

How can a Minimum Income Guarantee tackle both poverty and inequality? This session will explore what is needed to incorporate the needs of equalities groups and the priority families into the design of the Minimum Income Guarantee, to ensure that we aren’t leaving anyone behind.

Fiona Collie, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers Scotland

Bill Scott, Inclusion Scotland

Catherine Murphy, Executive Director, Engender (TBC)

2. Scottish Social Guarantee – The role of services

The implementation of the Minimum Income Guarantee would require reform to our public services to reduce essential costs for low-income households across Scotland. Collective services, such as free school meals or public transport, can help reduce the income needed to live a decent life. This session will look at the changes that are needed in the delivery of our public services, including childcare, transport and housing, to ensure everyone reaches a minimum income.

Carmen Carmen Martinez, SWBG (childcare) TBC;

3. Next steps for fair work in Scotland

The Minimum Income Guarantee is more than just a social security proposal, and requires reform to the world of work so that more people can gain access to good quality employment. Right now, work is not a guaranteed route out of poverty, and this is particularly true for women; Black and minority ethnic people and disabled people. This workshop will be exploring the role of employers in the delivery of a MIG. What are the next steps for fair work to ensure that more people have access to a secure and adequate income?

Chair: Lynn Anderson

Jack Evans, Senior Policy Adviser, Joesph Rowntree Foundation

Lindsey Millen, Head of Policy and Development, Close the Gap

4. What do we mean by an adequate income? Identifying the Minimum Income Guarantee Level

After over ten years of cuts and restrictions, our social security system is failing those it is intended to support. Recent campaigns like the Essentials Guarantee have highlighted that the level of social security is too low to allow people to afford the essentials for a dignified life. This session we will set the Minimum Income Guarantee level; and how we can improve our social security system so that it provides everyone with an adequate income for a decent and dignified life.

Session will include Discussion questions and speedy networking for a social security focused manifesto ahead of the general election.

Philip Whyte, Director, IPPR Scotland

Annual Conference - Minimum Income Guarantee: Drawing a line under poverty