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CDR3048-2013_06_00_TRA_TCD

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EU local and regional authorities contributing to the

Mid-term review of Europe 2020

Assessment of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion flagship initiative

Over two years after its launch, the Committee of the Regions will take stock of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusionflagship initiative at a conference to be held on 29May 2013 in Brussels. This conference will be the fourthin a series of CoR events and monitoring initiatives surrounding the mid-term review of Europe 2020 in 2014. More news on this conference can be found on the CoR website[1].

By participating in this survey, you will:

ensure that your views are taken into account in the debate held during the conference;

contribute to the fourth CoR Monitoring Report on Europe 2020, to be published in October 2013;

contribute to the CoR's consultative activity in this field over the coming months;

contribute to the mid-term review of Europe 2020 in 2014.

If you wish to participate in this survey, Please complete this questionnaire in any eu language, using the spaces provided, and return it in text format to:

by 22April 2013

For more information on this survey and for details on how to join the

Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform, go to:

The questionnaire is available on this website in all official languages of the EU

CDR3048-2013_06_00_TRA_TCD

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Contributor information[2]

Name of sender: / Monika Rozembajgier
Contact details:
(address, telephone, email) / +48 81 44 16793

On behalf of:
(name of local or regional authority) / Marshal's Office of the Lubelskie region, Lublin
Ul. Spokojna 4
20-074 Lublin
Type of organisation / City/Town/Municipality Region
County/Province
Association of local and/or regional authorities
Other (please specify)
Country: / Poland
Member of the EUROPE 2020 Monitoring Platform: / YesNo

Policy challenges and responses at regional and local level

BOX 1 – European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion: basic information
This is the first time ever thatthe objective of reducing poverty has been identified as aquantitative targetunder an EU strategy. The aim of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative, theEuropean Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion,is "to ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion in order to raise awareness and recognise the fundamental rights of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, enabling them to live in dignity and take an active part in society"[3].In particular, itoutlines actions to help Member States reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by the year 2020[4].
Althoughthe average at-risk-of-poverty-and-social-exclusion rate in the EU has remained relatively stable in recent years, it varies significantlyamong different age groups and between the Member States. It has significantly increased in a number of countries over the last three to four years[5]: while the rate is under 20% incertain Member Statessuch as Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg,it recently increased to 47% in Bulgaria, 40% in Latvia and 31% in Greece (2011). Furthermore, considerable differences exist between differentregionsin theMember States[6].
Today, the inhabitants of around one fifth of the EU's regions are particularly exposed to risks of poverty and social exclusion.
The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion feeds into the Europe 2020 objective of inclusive growth along with the Agenda for New Skills and Jobs flagship initiative. It will also help to achieve the other objectives of smart growth (alongside the Youth on the Move flagship initiative). In particular, it contributes to the objective of achieving the Europe 2020 headline target to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and social exclusion.
The main objectives and lines of action of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion are highlighted in Box 2 below.
EU regional and local governments are responsible for about one fifth of total government expenditure for social protection and services and therefore play an important role in helping to achieve the objectives of the flagship initiative[7].
You can find more information on the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, as seen from thelocal and regional authorities' viewpoint, on the European Commission's Europe 2020 portal[8] and in the Committee of the Regions' publication Delivering on the Europe 2020 Strategy. Handbook for Local and Regional Authorities[9]. General information on Europe 2020 can be found on the strategy's official website[10] and on the website of DG Employment.[11].
1)What are the main challenges currently facing your region/city in terms of (i) preventing child poverty (ii) providing decent housing conditions and (iii) combating the social exclusion of vulnerable groups?
The main social policy challenges for the Lubelskie region are derived from the preliminary principlesof the Lubelskie Region Social Policy Strategy for the 2014-2020 period. These principles made it possible to identify the main areas of support in the draft document, including unemployment and tackling poverty, the ageing population, disability, protecting mental health, child and family support, development of social capital and the social economy. The highlighted areas underpin the need for coordinated action which should first and foremost include - with a view to preventing child poverty, ensuring decent living conditions and combating social exclusion of weaker social groups - developing and strengthening social infrastructure for older people, the disabled, children, young peopleand children leaving children's homes, developing sports infrastructure and cultural institutions for children and young people from poorer communities in urban and rural areas, strengthening the infrastructure potential of social enterprises, developing active forms of social and vocational integration (including careers counselling, training, internships, courses, participation in courses run by social integration clubs, social integration centres), developing extra-curricular forms of youth integration, strengthening the economic potential of social enterprises by improving the skills of all workers and future workers of social enterprises, strengthening the human resources potential of assistance and social integration organisations, developing counselling including specialist counselling, and supporting measures in the area of self-organisation and local community involvement.
2) Please briefly describe what type of policy programmes/actions are being implemented in your city/region in the policy areas covered by the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, highlighting their specific contribution to the above targets (see Box 1).
The regional centre for social assistance in Lublin (Regionalny Ośrodek Pomocy Społecznej w Lublinie) carries out the following actions and programmes:
1.The Lublin region social policy strategy, the main aim of which is to achieve full social integration and a high standard of living, to meet the needs of all residents and to find effective solutions to problems by making use of human capital potential, NGOs and local communities.
2.The regional programme for older people, which aims to improve the quality of life of older people, strengthen intergenerational integration and to develop a positive image of older people in the public consciousness.
3.A regional programme aimed at initiating, promoting and monitoring measures to expand, diversify and modernise assistance and social support for people with mental health problems in the following areas: livelihoods,housing,sheltered accommodationand environmental self-assistance.
4.Training and advice to improve the skills of employees of assistance and social integration institutions. This project is co-financed by the European Union as part of the European Social Fund, and aims to improve skills, develop competences and the potential of employees and volunteers of assistance and social integration institutions and the employees of social assistance organisations, and to develop the skills of those employed at assistance and social integration institutions through advisory services.
5.Multiannual regional action plan to promote the social economy and develop institutions from the social economy sector and its environment in the region - social development road map. The main aim of this project is to draw up and implement a vision of the social economy's development through cooperation mechanisms and a modern and effective system of supporting the social economy in the Lubelskie region.
Under the regional component of Lubelskie's human capital operational programme (Program Operacyjnego Kapitał Ludzki), priority project VII on promoting social integration is being carried out. The European Social Fund department is playing the role of intermediary institution on behalf of the Lubelskie regional government, but the regional labour office in Lublin is the implementing institution (intermediary institution level two) for this priority. Under priority VII on promoting social integration, projects are being carried out which are geared primarily towards increasing the chances of finding employment for people in a particular situation in the labour market and who are confronted with the problem of unemployment. It is these people who are therefore at risk of social exclusion or are socially excluded. The following are the main forms of support being provided:
comprehensive active integration (including social contacts, PAL (local activity programme), programmes for people with disabilities, social work);
support for creation of and/or activities of social integration organisations;
support to create and organise extra-curricular forms of social integration for young people;
courses and training enabling people to acquire, improve or change vocational qualifications and skills and to develop social skills and competences;
psychological, psychological-social coaching leading to social and vocational integration;
- support to set up, join or work for a social cooperative.
3)Are any of the policy programmes/actions described in the above questioncarried out in partnership with different tiers of government and/or withother stakeholders (regional or local NGOs, representatives of the social partners, the business sector or service providers). If yes, please state (a) the administrative levels involved (b) the practical arrangements taken to manage such joint action (c) who the main partners were and (d) how you worked with them (work organisation and time).
The programmes relating to the regional social support centre in Lublin, mentioned in point 2 above, are being carried out in cooperation with local government and NGOs.
Priority VII of the human capital operational programme is being carried out by local government social assistance organisational units (district social assistance centres, county family support centres and the regional social policy centre), NGOs. Many competitive projects are being carried out on a partnership basis. It should be stressed that the partnership criteria is one of the more important substantive criteria for social integration projects. An additional aspect of cooperation are the social consultations on the guidelinesof support planned for the next few years.
4)Ensuring effective access to and participation in cultural activities for all is an essential part of promoting an inclusive society. In what way can participation in cultural and creative activities be instrumental for helping people and communities overcome poverty and social exclusion? Please refer to specific examples and existing initiatives.
......

How is the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion relevant to your city or region?

BOX 2 -European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion: main objectives and actions
The specific objectives of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusionare[12][13]:
  • to support theeradication ofchild poverty. Over 20 million children are at risk of poverty in Europe today. This risk rises to 25% for children who live in large families and is over 30% in the case of children who live in single parent families;
  • to promote the active inclusionin society and on thelabour market of the most vulnerable groupssinceunemployment is the principal cause of poverty among the working-age population. The risk of poverty for the unemployed is more than five times greater than in the case of people inemployment;
  • to provide decent housing for everyone. Homelessness and housing exclusion represent one of the most extreme forms of poverty and have increased in recent years. Fuel poverty, which risks depriving households not only of heating or air conditioning but also hot water, light and other essential domestic necessities, is another example of severe deprivation;
  • to overcome discrimination and increase the social integration of people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, immigrants and other vulnerable groups. For example, older people face a higher risk of poverty compared to the overall population; moreover, in some countries older people are at particular risk of material deprivation;
  • to tacklefinancial exclusion and over-indebtednesswhich arisefrom a lack of access to basic banking services, a situation which has been aggravated by the recent crisis. It can also be an obstacle to finding a job and thus lead to persistent marginalisation and poverty;

  • to promote the integration of Roma. Certain ethnic minorities, of whom Roma are the largest group, and migrant people in general, are disproportionately affected by multiple deprivation.
The specific actions and tools at EU level are structured as follows[14][15]:
  • improved access to work, social security, essential services (healthcare, housing, etc.) and education;
  • better use of EU funds to support social inclusion and combat discrimination;
  • social innovation to identify smart solutions in post-crisis Europe, especially in terms of more effective and efficient social support;
  • new partnerships such as those between the public and the private sector;
  • enhancedpolicy coordination among the Member States;
  • provision of food to the most deprived people, as well as clothing and other essential goods to homeless people and materially-deprived children[16].

5)Which of the objectives and lines of action of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion(listed in Box 2) are most relevant for the current situation in your region/city? To what extent have they encouragedyou to set more ambitious policy goals at regional/local level? Please explain your answer.
  1. Support to eradicate child poverty.
  2. Support for the active integration into society and the labour market of the weakest groups in society.
  3. Ensuring that all people have decent living conditions.
  4. Tackling discrimination and increasing the social integration of people with disabilities and older people.
Reason:
The Lubelskie region has the highest number of people at risk of poverty (30%) nationally. Data from the ministry of labour and social policy shows that in 2010 a total of 76 867 families and 239 971 people in those families were claiming various forms of social benefits. 840 families and 2 088 people in those families claimed benefits allocated within the framework of tasks delegated by the central government, while 76 349 families or rather 238 544 people claimed benefits allocated within the framework of regional governments' own tasks. Most families in the Lubelskie region make use of support on grounds of poverty - 56% (53% nationally) and unemployment – 45.5% (47% nationally).
The risk of poverty is accompanied by social exclusion. This represents a major obstacle, limiting the development of a modern society in the region. An analysis of the socio-economic situation in the region highlights many negative trends, including: a large number of people making long-term use of social assistance, the highest occurrence of disability nationally and a low level of employment among people with disabilities. There should therefore be a concentration of measures geared towards promoting social and vocational participation and the social integration of people and families. It is important to continually raise the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the work of all assistance and social integration institutions with a view to promoting social inclusion of marginalised people and groups. Changing the approach to people who are excluded or at risk of social exclusion by making use of new solutions represents an opportunity (including in the area of integrating public and non-public support: labour market institutions and assistance and social integration institutions). It is important to develop intersectoral and public-social cooperation as regards active integration measures. In light of current demographic trends, consideration should be given to making use of the potential of older people in social integration measures. Integrated measures are aimed at preventing a continuation of the trend towards long-term use of social assistance (dependency on social support), inheriting poverty and unfavourable social attitudes and helplessness in care matters. In connection with the above, tackling poverty and carrying out the abovementioned goals is a subject of interest among regional authorities.
The above issues will be strongly emphasisedin the future Lubelskie region operational programme for the 2014-2020 period within the framework of thematic objective 9 on supporting social inclusion and tackling poverty. Funds from the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund will be earmarked for social inclusion and anti-poverty measures.

BOX 3 –Social Investment Package[17][18]:

The Social Investment Package (SIP) aims to give guidance to Member States on more efficient and effective social policies in response to the significant challenges they currently face such as financial distress, increasing poverty and social exclusion,unemployment, especially among young people. These are combined with the challenge of ageing societies and smaller working age populations, which test the sustainability and adequacy of national social systems.

The Social Investment Package includes a Commission recommendation against child poverty, calling for an integrated approach to child-friendly social investment. Investing in children and young people is especially effective in breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and social exclusion and improving people's opportunities later in life.

The Social Investment Package is an integrated policy framework which takes account of the social, economic and budgetary divergences between Member States. It focuses on:

1.Ensuring that social protection systems respond to people's needs at critical moments throughout their lives. More needs to be done to reduce the risk of social breakdown and so avoid higher social spending in the future.