Making poverty history?

2010 was the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion. But the latest statistics show that even before the international recession, local poverty was rearing its ugly head.

The National Office of Statistics (NSO) survey on income and living conditions reveals that in 2009, 15.1% of the population (or nearly 61,000 persons) were at risk of poverty, up from 14.6% in 2008 and closer to the European average of 16%.

Moreover according to a recent Eurobarometer survey 67% of the Maltese think that poverty has increased in the past 3 years.  But  only 15% (compared to 54% of Europeans)  blame it on higher rates of unemployment.

The highest ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ rates were registered among persons living in single-parent households (54%) and among children (20.7%) and the elderly (19%).

On the other hand, the risk of poverty among families with children where both spouses worked stood at just 4%, making it among the lowest levels compared with the average of 8% in the European Union – an indication that poverty in Malta is tied to a cycle of underemployment, welfare dependency and social problems.

Poverty is higher among those who stopped going to school after completing secondary school. Among this category 17% were at risk of poverty. On the other hand, among those who completed a tertiary or higher level of education only 3% were at the risk of poverty.

Poverty is also exacerbated by higher bills.

Despite the availability of energy vouchers for low-income households, NSOstatistics reveal that a staggering one tenth of families (44,490 persons) were not able to keep their home adequately warm in winter. Rising bills in 2010 could mean even more people not affording to heat up their homes as two thirds of energy vouchers were not even collected in the first half of 2010 due to bureaucratic hiccups.

A further 40,640 people live in households which can’t afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish on alternate days.

But it is not just the very poorest which are materially deprived.

64% of households (55,380 people), can’t afford to pay for a one-week annual holiday away from home, while 28% can’t afford to face unexpected financial expenses of €450 and over. Furthermore, 36% of households are finding it difficulty to make ends meet, with just 8% finding it easy.

This suggest that apart from a poor “underclass”  there is also a larger section of society which struggles to survive.

For while only 15% blame poverty on unemployment 68% (compared to just  48% of Europeans) consider Maltese wages to being  too low to cope.

The fact that half of Maltese women aged between 25 and 54 do not work (the lowest in Europe) also means that a large number of households depend on a single income.  One way of improving living standards in Malta would be encouraging more women to work.  Women  already constitute the majority of university graduates  but  poor investment in child care services as well as cultural factors militate against female participation in the labour market.                               

Geographical divide

The social divide corresponds to a geographical divide between the north and the south. In the southern harbour district (which includes Cottonera, Valletta and surrounding towns), the at-risk-of-poverty rate is 4 percentage points higher than the national average. On the other hand, the risk of poverty rate falls to just 13% in the western region, which includes more affluent localities like Attard and Balzan.

The NSO’s household budgetary survey also reveals that households in the western district spend the most – almost 10% above the national average.

Cottonera – land of the single mum

NSOstatistics reveal that the category with lowest disposable income – €10,178 – was the single parent household, with one or more dependent children.

Other statistics reveal that the highest number of births to single mothers occur in the poorest localities. 33 out of the 53 babies born in Cottonera (Birgu, Bormla, Isla) between January and June 2010 were born to single-parent families.

Nine out of the 12 births in Isla went to single mothers.

Overall, 528 of 2,221 newborns (23.7%) in the first six months of the year were born to single mothers.

Statistics presented in parliament in 2009 showed that 20% of the 2,599 recipients of the means-tested single parent benefit hailed from the grand harbour localities, which account for 6% of the population. Since this benefit is means-tested, this is also an indication of lower incomes. But it could also be an indication of benefit fraud, with women that have little opportunity for social mobility getting single parent benefits while actually cohabiting with their partners.

Bleak times for Grand Harbour

Despite all the talk of regenerating the physical infrastructure of the Grand Harbour, it still ranks among the most socially depressed regions.

Statistics presented in parliament in 2009 showed that 14% of people living in the eight towns surrounding the Grand Harbour are either unemployed or in receipt of some form of social assistance. In fact, welfare payments are generally double that of the national average in this region.

The inner harbour area (Valletta, Floriana, Marsa, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, Kalkara, and Xghajra) boasts the highest number of people receiving mean-tested benefits, such as social assistance to single parents and sickness benefits. 7% of those living in the Grand Harbour receive a sickness allowance, and nearly 4% are unemployed.

When it comes to welfare dependency, only Gozo, where 10% of its population is either unemployed or receiving benefits, rivals the Grand Harbour thanks to an abnormally high number of invalidity pensions.

915 Gozitans (or 3.1% of the entire Gozitan population) receives an invalidity pension – compared to just 1.5% of the Maltese population who receive this benefit.

Invalidity pensions to Gozo represent 15.5% of all total claims for this pension, despite the fact that Gozitans account for 7.6% of the national population.

On the other hand Marsa, Bormla and Valletta register the highest rate of people receiving sickness allowance. In each of these, three localities (more than 8% of the locality’s population) receives this benefit. This could be a reflection of lower incomes in this part of Malta, because this benefit is means-tested.

Long-term unemployment is also a problem in the eight towns surrounding the Grand Harbour, which account for 18% of all those registering for work for more than a year.

Poverty is also reflected in higher rates of crime. Statistics presented in parliament last year also show that 74 out of the 356 Maltese inmates at the Corradino Correctional Facility hail from the Grand Harbour towns of Valletta, Marsa, Floriana, Bormla, Birgu, Isla, Kalkara and Xghajra. On its own, Valletta accounts for 24 prisoners, surpassing Malta’s largest town – Birkirkara – which accounts for 21 prisoners. Gozo, which accounts for 8% of the Maltese population, only accounts for 3% of Maltese inmates.

Low educational achievements

The depressing state of affairs in the harbour area is also reflected in low educational achievement, with only 59 students (a sheer 2.3% of the total) from this region entering University.

Despite stipends aimed at assisting students from poor families, students from affluent middle class localities still dominate.

Only 0.4% of graduates in 2010 hailed from the three cities of Birgu, Bormla and Isla, which account for 2.8% of the population.

On the other hand, nearly one in every ten students graduating this year (8.7%) hails from the three villages (Attard, Lija and Balzan) which together account for just 4.3% of the Maltese population.

More students graduated from Attard than from B’Kara, which has double its population. Three times as many students graduate from Attard than from Zejtun, which is slightly bigger.

Primary schools in the harbour area also registered the highest rates of absenteeism in 2008.

The Valletta primary school had the highest rate of unauthorised absenteeism. Of the total 21,025 school days (number of school days multiplied by total student population of 145), 12% or 2,486 days were lost to absenteeism that was not medically justified or otherwise excused by school authorities.

Two other inner harbour towns, Bormla and Isla, are among the top five schools with the highest rates of absenteeism. St Paul’s Bay and Sliema also registered similar rates of absenteeism.

The statistics show that unauthorised absenteeism is six times higher in State schools than in church and private schools. Absenteeism justified by a medical certificate is also double that in church and private schools.

Primary schools in Mgarr and Kercem had the lowest rates of truancy. The six schools with the lowest rates of unauthorised absenteeism were located in Gozo or northern Malta.

Educationalists have blamed the lack of social mobility through education on the highly stratified education system which divides children according to their ability at a very young age. The worse off are those who failed their Junior Lyceum exam and end up attending area secondary schools as a result.

Only a third of boys who finished their obligatory education in these schools in 2008 continued their studies after fifth form, a tracer report showed.

Prospects for social mobility could increase as from next year, which will see the introduction of the more inclusive college system and the end of the highly divisive exam, which is set to be replaced by an assessment system geared at helping rather than segregating students.

Inequality and Lifestyle

Inequality also pervades Maltese society, where on average the top 20% of the population earn four times the income of the bottom 20% of the population.

Differences in income are also reflected in different lifestyles.

The household budgetary survey shows that households with a high educational level spend more on recreation, culture, restaurants and hotels – thus suggesting a lifestyle divide between the haves and the have nots.

While 85% of professionals and managers eat out more than once a month, only 46.3% of unskilled workers do the same.

A MaltaToday survey conducted in 2009 showed that while 10% of the population eats out in a restaurant more than once a week, 25% does so less than once a month, and another 25% never eats out at all. The majority of respondents (52%) eat in a restaurant less than once a month.

While only 15% of the top occupational bracket shop from grocers, 44% of unskilled workers and unemployed people (DE) shop from these outlets. 40% of pensioners also shop from grocers.

In September 2009, MaltaToday surveyed five localities: Sliema, Marsaskala, Mosta, Qormi and Gozo, finding a great divide in lifestyle.

The survey found that while in Sliema a fifth travelled abroad more than twice a year, only one in every twenty in Qormi did likewise. The number of those eating out in a restaurant more than once a week was three times higher in Sliema than Qormi.