Scope Articles

Child poverty and Northern Ireland's house of cards

Housing costs and poverty are inextricably linked (Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash)

1 Jun 2021

Progress on child poverty has been slow. Between the pandemic and rising house prices, things could be about to get much worse.

Poverty is a trap

6 May 2021

Arguments against higher social security payments centre on incentivising work. This is flawed thinking. Right now, benefits are too low.

Poverty: Society’s open wound

16 Feb 2021

Department for Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey outlines her plans to tackle poverty.

Poverty in the UK

Poverty will be a major concern for the Assembly

27 Jan 2021

The UK was struggling to get to grips with poverty before the pandemic. Immediate needs and underlying issues both need to be addressed in any recovery.

Food banks, poverty and our broken Welfare State

2 Oct 2020

How has it come to pass that in one of the wealthiest countries on the planet so many people are dependent on the kindness of others to provide for their most basic of needs, food?

In the pandemic, UBI keeps gathering momentum

13 May 2020

The first test of a universal basic income has proved a success. A large majority of the public want it introduced. Politicians at Westminster are drawing up plans. Is UBI now more likely than not?

Covid-19 is a global emergency and a local one

7 May 2020

It’s Red Cross Week, and Scope speaks to the organisation here in Northern Ireland about how it has had to transform its work to tackle the pandemic.

Coronavirus: cross-party discussions are taking place at Westminster on UBI

22 Apr 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing us to examine the mechanisms of our society and economy. Options that were previously just theoretical are now on the table. The impacts could be enormous.

Northern Ireland has the lowest poverty rates in the UK

13 Feb 2020

The latest annual poverty report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows the importance of affordable housing.

Stormont’s back – and everyone’s inbox is full

Stormont’s return has left the NIHRC annual statement out of date, sort of - but it’s also more relevant than when it was published.

16 Jan 2020

The Assembly’s return is a big deal and surely better than the past three years. However, the list of issues MLAs face is enormous. Scope looks at human rights in NI.

Hunger is an issue this Christmas and New Year

5 Dec 2019

Food banks, Universal Credit and holiday hunger are different issues, but all are interlinked. That relationship comes into sharper focus at this time of year.

Homelessness is more than one issue

20 Nov 2019

Improvements in several areas are needed to tackle this multi-layered problem. Unfortunately, the absence of a government is a real obstacle.

Welfare Reform mitigations have problems that could be helped by an Executive

23 Jan 2019

An Audit Office report has highlighted huge Welfare Reform underspend. Several NI organisations say bigger problems are coming. With no Assembly, we are rudderless – but Stormont struggled to deal with this first time round.

There will be unfortunate irony if Brexit is terrible - but the UK already had real problems

14 Sep 2018

Some major issues that drove Brexit could worsen after we leave the EU. This says some interesting things not just about the UK's decision - but also about the status quo we are leaving behind.

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