Workshops at the Annual Convention of the Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

 

The third Annual Convention of the Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion which took place on 26-27 November featured a number of workshops to look at ways to implement social investment throughout the life course in the areas of childhood education and care, Roma inclusion policies, re-housing strategies for homeless, access to quality health care and solutions for disadvantaged youth.

 

 

Ensuring adequate access to quality health care for all in times of economic crisis

 

 

“There is a health dimension in all the aspects of social protection, such as child care, long-term care, etc. All these actors have an impact on health, including social services, however the challenging question is how does access to health care fit into social and economic developments?” These were the opening remarks of ESN Chief Executive John Halloran who was chairing the workshop on access to health care. Although there is an increasing need for health care, public expenditure in the health sector has decreased, especially in countries with the lowest expenditure.

 

 

According to participants there are six main barriers to healthcare: legal coverage, affordability, reachability, waiting lines, access to information and stigmatisation. In order to address the socio-economic aspect of access to health care, Maria Magnusson from the University of Gothenburg presented a Swedish project that is based on an understanding of gender, socio-economic cultures, language and participation. Pavlos N. Theodorakis, the WHO national counterpart for mental health in Greece, spoke about the impact of the crisis on the Greek health care system; he stressed that access to primary health care is a structural problem based on a high concentration on specialist care, with having one of the highest numbers of physicians in the world and only 3% (of the medical workforce) general practitioners.

 

 

Participants agreed that a new vision for health services is needed in order to adapt to the changing contexts. Health systems should be reorganised towards:

 

 

• accessible primary care


• reducing health inequalities by considering the needs of people facing disadvantages


• community-based centres


• integrated health and social services


• stronger health promotion and disease prevention services


• involving workforce beyond health services


 

 

Promoting effective investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC)

 

ECEC services play a significant role in improving children’s outcomes, promoting parental employment and reconciling work with family life. The workshop featured case studies on the financing and organisation of ECEC services in three countries and their impact on quality, affordability and accessibility. A look at the demand-driven Dutch services showed a hybrid structure of private companies and public foundations, and a complex funding system with tax benefits for working parents, municipal funding for out of work parents, and targeted services for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

 

Two ESN members have also presented the ECEC systems in their countries: Marta Korintus from the General Directorate for Social Affairs and Child protection described the role of the State, municipal and parental co-funding for services for children aged 0-3 and 3-6 years in Hungary. Antonio Sagués from the Health and Social Welfare Ministry of Andalucía, Spain, explained the funding system for ECEC services for children at risk of psycho-social or developmental problems in his region, which includes individual agreements with municipalities, county councils and private ECEC centres. Both speakers pointed to geographical distribution of services as essential to accessibility; this issue has been resolved in Andalucía by the development of a common information system for health, education and social services professionals. Following the presentations, participants agreed that:

 

 

• it is essential to strengthen geographical distribution of services in order to grant accessibility to children and families who need them;


• it is crucial to focus not only on numbers but also on quality through improving staff training and qualifications, working conditions and work with parents;


• budget cuts require a concerted effort towards new ways of providing services through public-private partnerships across different government levels;


• education, health and social services should have in place a common information system to improve outcomes for users.


 

 

Policy solutions for youth experiencing disadvantage

 

Workshop participants discussed measures to overcome some of the problems disadvantaged youth in Europe may be facing, including lack of educational attainment, substance abuse and crime. Delegates agreed that many different factors influence the situation of young people, amongst which family structures, household income, gender, the surrounding environment (urban/rural), disability and mental health. These socio-economic criteria have an impact on education which then shapes individual’s opportunities in the labour market and their future social position.

 

 

According to Dr Cristina Iannelli from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, education alone cannot tackle economic and social disadvantage; rather more integrated approaches, such as a close cooperation between children and family services and education, are needed to overcome this. Cooperation between education, social and employment services are also crucial to supporting young people in their transition into adulthood. Two successful practice examples, on youth employment agencies in Hamburg, Germany, and Catch 22, a social business with over 100 services and projects in the UK reiterated this message during the workshop.

 

 

Following the presentations, participants discussed and agreed that there is a need for:

 

 

• a co-ordinated approach between different services


• recognising the importance of enabling and adequate benefits systems that support the labour integration of young people


• close cooperation between education and employers to develop skills and qualifications that are relevant for the current and ever changing labour market and society


 

 

Resources

 

• Read more about the plenary sessions


• All presentations and background papers from the Convention can be found here


• Results and conclusions of the Convention can be found here