Data, policies and laws missing on poverty
(CNS): No research analysis or information gathering on who and how many people in the Cayman Islands are living in poverty or at risk of falling into it has been conducted since well before the 2009 economic crisis hit. Government does not have any defined policies or goals about how its social assistance programmes should help people out of poverty, nor is there sufficient legislation to deal with people in need of support from the state. These and many other problems surround the $51 million spent annually on as much as 10% of the Caymanian population.
In one of two reports published this week by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), the team found that a variety of different kinds of government assistance is being given to more than 3,500 people annually but there is no data to say how many people are in need, what those needs are, why people are in need and whether the help they get is addressing any of those needs.
The only data that exists is the National Assessment of Living Conditions, which was carried out in 2006/07 — more than eight years ago and well before the economic recession, which began in earnest in 2009. According to Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick, the nature and extent of the problems which social assistance is meant to address are not known.
His office also found no policies or stated goals and ambitions indicting what government hopes to achieve for the welfare benefits given to those in need. There is no follow up or record of how the money is helping those it goes to, if at all. The auditors said there is no understanding about which programmes work and which don’t that could help re-design or re-target them for better outcomes for the public purse and the recipients.
“We found that the current set of social assistance programmes has evolved on an ad hoc basis over the years, based on the responses of governments to particular circumstances and pressures,” Swarbrick said. “We found too that there is no overall strategy that sets out what the government wants to achieve and that guides the provision of social assistance. Neither, despite available resources being inevitably limited, are there any articulated priorities with respect to addressing the needs of those who, because of poverty, ill-health, age, or other reasons, face challenges in meeting their basic living requirements.”
The audit found no objectives or targets from social assistance have been identified except a vague goal to meet the basic needs of those who are poor, ill or elderly.
Alongside the paucity of data and policy direction, the auditor general found that government had not created the laws needed to support the benefit system for seamen and veterans, and the poor relief law needs to be amended. The Needs Assessment Unit, which was created in 2013 and responsible for deciding who is in need and what can be given, is not supported in law or regulations.
“Intentions and efforts to develop regulations so as to provide a solid foundation for poor relief payments have, after several years, still to yield results,” the report found.
Although the law provides for government to place a lien on property of those who receive relief under the Poor Persons (Relief) Law to recover the costs, no liens have ever been taken out against property owned by recipients of relief payments.
While government is spending a considerable amount trying to help people in need, the auditors found that it may be spending in the wrong places, not spending enough to make a difference and help people out of poverty as there are no targets or goals.
The inequities in the system were also identified, as Swarbrick said that veterans and seamen were much more likely than any other group, regardless of their level of need, to get social assistance. The civil servants who took part in the audit also indicated that the elderly and families with small children were also more likely to get help.
With no strict criteria which is systematically adhered to, the auditors found considerable inequality in the system, with some families receiving much more help than others without justification. Decisions are made on a subjective basis and what guidelines or procedures were in place were often ignored.
Swarbrick and his team found in a random selection of 37 files of veterans and seamen that no means tests had been carried out, even though monthly household incomes in some cases exceeded stated thresholds and the income of spouses for some ex-service or seamen were not considered at all before benefits were allocated.
Temporary poor relief assistance benefits were also being given to families where spouses’ income or the value of the property owned by those receiving the benefits were not considered. A review of 50 random files showed that the terms “household” and “family” have been loosely interpreted. The Needs Assessment Unit management is now aware of the issue and has begun implementing a policy that calls for all adults in a household to be taken into account when assessing benefit eligibility.
Despite a history of political interference in welfare decisions, Swarbrick said this was now in decline. In 2012, there were 37 case of politically directed aid, 14 the year after and just two last year. But Swarbrick warned that in the absence of clear legislative authority, and with officials at the Needs Assessment Unit and the Department of Children and Family Services holding so much discretion, there is still a risk of political pressure.
Swarbrick made a dozen recommendations in his report to government to address the many shortcomings his audit revealed. But on this occasion the goal is not just to save money for the public purse but to ensure those in real need are not suffering at the expense of others who have the means to support themselves.
Since the publication of the report, CNS has contacted Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden about policy direction for this area of his portfolio and he confirmed that his ministry would be releasing a full statement shortly about the issues.
OAG report – Government Programmes Supporting Those in Need, May 2015
Category: Government oversight, Local News, Politics
According to the world income inequality database https://wid.world/country/cayman-islands/ since 2008 income has dropped considerably and continues to do so up to 2017, the progressive government does not want this to come to light. The rich keeps getting richer and the poor poorer.
When your head is above the clouds its really hard to see who or what you are treading on.
Most of these people can get jobs, they just don’t want to work as they are given $14k pa by government. I know of 4 families doing this, one in particular told me that her and her mother get approximately $2,500 pm including accommodation as well as extras for her 3kids (who’s father also doesn’t want to work,collecting monthly money), she doesn’t need to work because she has this money coming in and by the end of the day, paying for gas, rent and other expenses if to have a job would be less than she is currently getting from government.
Take the money away from them and send them to work for 5 bucjs an hour. There are way more important issues these funds could be used for.
I am sick and tired of our Caymanian attitude we are entitled to everything… I work my ass off to support my 2 kids and make sure I educate them to do better than me and my wife.
Is that christianity ?
Christianity has nothing to do with it. There are able bodied men and women walking the street with social services supporting them. No, they are not mentally ill, they are plain lazy. They should all be expected to do some work to get any assistance. Even if it’s cleaning the beaches or roadside; it’s something.
In cayman the thought is that it is up to the government to take care of all that people don’t want to take care of themselves
Lets just speak of education for a moment Locals feel that if their kids want to go to university it is the governments job to pay for it even if the parents make big bucks.
I believe Allister may just misunderstand a few things where he is from the parents pay for university not government Perhaps he needs to understand the culture a little better before he makes a comment
If by “Allister” you mean the Auditor-General, he is from Scotland where the Scottish Government pays for Scottish students’ university education.
Have another drink bobo, your post makes no sense.
In many countries – Canada, for example – neither parents nor government pay – the students pay their own way. Many work full-time in the summer and on breaks, and work part-time whilst attending University. They’ll work horrible crap jobs – tree planting and tobacco/fruit picking, for example, that can make them a lot of $ in a short period of time. That, along with student-loans, and, perhaps, the occasional parental boost keeps them in school. Albeit, CND Universities are subsidized, but students who are self-supporting achieve higher academic results, are more responsible, and more likely to be suitably employed upon graduation.
But 5:25, we Caymanians are entitled and so we should not have to work for anything. It should be free to us since foreigners are earning huge money at our expense.
Rubbish! In Canada, health care and education are FREE for the natives. But you don’t want to discuss that do you? Because let me guess YOU are NOT an aboriginal.? This is a fact, been there hunny. Caucasians don’t even speak to the aboriginal people. Funny how that works everywhere!
I think that Mr . Swarbrick would be a a better leader for the Islands . For sure he knows how programs are to be setup and how they are to work .
Many years ago, efforts were made to put liens on property for those receiving government funding but politics intervened and stopped this from happening or made it horribly difficult for the officers at the hospital and the ministry to arrange it. Caymanians-born- abused other Caymanians-born -who tried to -gasp – enforce the law. People in Lexus cars arrived at the ministry to tell the minister they were indigent. Civil servants, many with civil servant or other employed siblings, left their posts to tell the minister the same thing, saying they could not pay for their parents. When the issue of liens on property came up there was a huge fuss (mostly from West Bay fuelled by a certain MLA) and then the practice grew up of these younger people getting the older (often very frail mentally and physically) ones to sign over their land to them so the younger ones could claim to government the older ones had no land. This still goes on. No corruption here.
Just like the continued support to teenagers, who choose not to work but have children with no help from the sperm dooners. It is past time to stop encouraging them in the low life of choice. Cut off the support and let them find a job and the fathers support their children. Government should not be responsible for them, when they are out abusing and peddling drugs and leading a life that does not fit into the social network of their communities.
Too many are encouraged by parents to lead the lives they do. An assessment has to be the way forward. Their are those with income, who do not need the help, while their are some who genuinely are in need and those whose children prey on the vulnerable parents and deprive them of the assistance.
This is more fraud (against Government) than corruption, bad though it is. Since the Legge editorial all sorts of things are being termed corruption when strictly speaking they are better described as something else. The situation you describe is, unfortunately, true and is a clear case of a few Caymanians giving the rest of us who try to pay our way a bad name.
On the surface what you say is true. However as much of this situation is created by the Govt. (seemingly fueled at least in part) by the Govt. wanting large numbers of voters beholden to them (matters little which party is in power) then the whole system has now become corrupt. It happens in most places….until the money runs out eh?…
Do you not realize that the overt tolererence of fronting (a crime) is part of the breakdown of law and order?
Sad but true. While there are many needy people getting help there are a lot of people taking advantage of the “system” by getting all they can because it’s there for the taking. This is common in any democracy.
And on top of that we have clear legislation in the form of the Maintenance Law which requires able people to support their dependents. It has not been enforced for decades (it seems) because of political interference. We have no corruption here,