Policies to reduce inequality in the capability to enjoy comfortable, independent and secure living conditions

Policies in Domain 5 address unequal access to basic needs such as water, sanitation, shelter, energy, and good nutrition. Policy plays an important part in limiting exposure to accidents, disasters, environmental risks. Government policy plays a key role in securing comfortable living conditions through access to safe, secure and good quality housing, in terms of housing provision, planning and regulation, and access to a healthy environment. Independent living may require alterations to housing, public transport and facilities for some groups such as people with disabilities and the elderly. Policies can also help address harmful social and cultural norms that limit control over resources for some groups. Policy also plays a role in ensuring equal access to affordable good quality childcare, elderly care and social care which affect both the individuals in need of the care, and the independence and standard of living of would-be care givers in the absence of this provision.

Explore the candidate policies by main driver categories in Domain 5.

Policies by main driver categories

To find a selection of candidate policies, click on the main driver categories below.

5.1 Unequal access to clean water, sanitation and utilities to meet energy needs

• Policies related to increasing service coverage of water supply and sanitation systems, promoting better hygiene practices, improving water quality and guaranteeing affordability of water and sanitation services for economically disadvantaged households especially in rural areas.
• Policies that expand access to electricity, especially of rural households, and including through use of off-grid, decentralised, renewable energy options.
• Policies that appropriately regulate privatised water and sanitation services to ensure on-going investment in infrastructure, efficient service provision and pricing policies that guarantee affordability.
• Policies that appropriately regulate privatised energy markets to ensure on-going investment in (especially low carbon) infrastructure, efficient service provision and pricing policies that guarantee affordability.
• Policies that protect the consumer in privatised utilities markets and guard against poor quality service, incorrect billing, large disparities in pricing that discriminate against some types of users (e.g., those without access to the internet, households on pre-payment meters), inappropriate disconnection from basic services and promote the ability to switch supplier.

5.2 Unequal access to good nutrition

• Policies to combat malnutrition including nutrition-specific interventions that avert maternal and child under-nutrition combined with direct cash transfer programmes.
• Policies to prevent famine (e.g., infra-structure investment, help for small farmers, emergency water supply systems, early alert systems, conflict resolution), ensure co-ordinated equitable distribution of famine relief and aid.
• Policies to support food banks, subsidise good nutrition in schools (free school meals for the least advantaged), compulsory lessons on food technology and cookery in schools.

5.3 Unequal access to safe, secure and quality housing

• Policies related to the supply of housing – such as the government’s direct supply or planning and regulatory frameworks related to housing development, including the provision of social housing; policies related to housing quality including the construction of sustainable buildings, and buildings that are safe given risk of natural disasters.
• Urban planning policies: including using urban planning policies to tackle residential segregation and to promote mixed-neighbourhoods and mixed housing developments (e.g.. social housing mandated with high quality developments; prohibition of 'separate spaces' such as 'poor doors' as discriminatory); and urban planning policies that ensure the retention of public spaces for use by public and which prohibit the privatisation of public spaces.
• Policies related to the provision of financial assistance to secure housing for low-income households.
• Policies to eliminate discriminatory practices and barriers in public and private sector housing.
• Policies related to the provision of temporary accommodation for vulnerable groups (homeless people, ex-psychiatric patients, victims of domestic violence, prison leavers).
• Policies and regulation aimed at the mortgage industry to guard against predatory lending; ensure safe (and discriminatory) lending practices; protect borrowers in difficulty and help with debt restructuring, particularly for the vulnerable.
• Policies which enable governments to seize unused land and unoccupied property (with compensation as appropriate) for social purposes as well as deployment of unused state-owned land.
• Policies related to rent regulation and tenancy protection, especially in relation to eviction.
• Policies related to health and safety in rented accommodation including adequate inspections, fines and penalties and obligations to make improvements.
• Policies to control speculative practices within the housing market, including a special high rate ‘empty property tax’ related to vacant houses, a foreign buyer tax, and regulations that oblige resident and non-resident landlords to register (with full beneficial ownership declared) with the tax authority and pay domestic income tax on rental property.
• Progressive tax policies related to property, land and home ownership: including high taxation of second homes and a suitably high land value tax, and prohibition or limitation of preferential tax treatment for homeowners.
• Policies designed to upgrade slums in terms of quality of housing, water, sewerage, drainage, street lighting, paving, recreation areas, access to social services, land titling and property regularisation.

5.4 Harmful social and cultural norms that limit access to, and control over, resources for certain groups

• Publicly funded educational programmes and public campaigns to promote greater awareness of gender equality and challenge gender-role ideology in relation to the division of household resources, domestic duties and care responsibilities.
• Policies that promote financial education within schools which are designed to break any gender stereotypes with regards to financial competence, financial capability and financial independence.
• Policies that guarantee women’s rights to own property, land and enterprises in their own name and to receive inheritance.

5.5 Unequal access to adequate public transport infrastructure and a healthy environment

• Policies related to public funding necessary to ensure good public transport infrastructure and healthy, clean local environments. This may require considering the balance between national and local funding models.
• Policies related to the natural environment such as making green spaces available for free, public use in cities, and the provision of safe and accessible parks, outdoor play spaces and sports fields that are accessible in all neighbourhoods.
• Policies related to the operations of public development banks to improve investment in public infrastructure, particularly in relation to renewable energy, sustainable, zero carbon housing and other investments in the green economy.

5.6 Unequal exposure to accidents, disasters and environmental risk

• Policies related to disaster risk reduction, including specific investments (e.g. flood defences, disaster-resistant dwellings) in disaster-prone zones to protect people’s homes and neighbourhoods; policies and investment that aid emergency planning, such as early warning and weather data systems.
• Policies designed to support disaster relief teams and specialists, including rapid response teams and aftercare support teams.
• Policies designed to improve air quality such as regulations to control industrial emissions, domestic fuel use, emissions limits for cars, commercial vehicles and maritime transport and for the agricultural sector, congestion zoning; policies may be localised - in highly polluted, highly populated neighbourhoods - or national in scope.

5.7 Unequal access to good quality, affordable childcare, social care, elderly care and other family support services

• Policies that provide universal or publicly subsidized good quality childcare services that help to reduce socio-economic inequalities in child outcomes, meet the needs of children with disabilities, reduce the burden of unpaid care work on women and to address gender inequalities.
• Policies that provide good quality social care for elderly people, to allow them to live with dignity and respect either in their own homes, assisted living residences or within residential care and to provide respite care for family care givers.
• Policies related to the supply of affordable, good quality social care provided for people with disabilities to support independent living and to lead dignified lives, respite care for family care givers and support for young carers.