Poverty and Devolution

Résumé du livre

"Levels and forms of poverty vary greatly across the UK. This report assesses the impact of different localised approaches to reducing poverty, and which aspects of the UK social security system would be best suited for devolution to the national governments. Headline levels of poverty across all four nations of the UK fell significantly until the economic downturn, but since then there has been a more mixed picture, with rising levels in Northern Ireland and Wales in particular. The latest set of figures, however, appears to show that among all UK nations, poverty has either stopped rising, or is again beginning to fall. This report argues for maintaining a strong central welfare state. The redistributive functions of government require pooling risk across the largest possible area, to mitigate the asymmetrical impact of different changes in economic conditions. However, we also believe that some benefits could be devolved in a safe and effective fashion, to improve the devolved governments' ability to respond to local circumstances."--Publisher's website.