Analysis of Socially Excluded Localities in the Czech Republic now available

The analysis, funded with ESF and national funds, aims to identify and describe socially excluded localities and compare their current state with the year 2006, when the last extensive mapping was carried out.

The “Analysis of socially excluded localities in the Czech Republic”, commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and funded using funds from the European Social Fund and the State Budget of the Czech Republic, is now available.

The publication aims to identify and describe socially excluded localities and compare their current state with the year 2006, when the last extensive mapping was carried out. For the purposes of this analysis, a socially excluded locality or a locality at risk of social exclusion is defined as a location with a more than 20% concentration of persons living in inadequate conditions (indicated by the number of recipients of the living allowance) and inhabiting a physically or symbolically delimited space (indicated by external identification).

Counting on up-to-date and comprehensive information about the development and character of social exclusion in the Czech Republic now that the new programming period is starting is considered essential in order to use the money available during this period effectively. In this context, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affiars, in charge of the management of the Human Ressources and Employment OP, intends to rely on this newly available information and set up new calls for proposals in accordance with the outputs of the analysis. The Ministry also hopes that this exercise and the related analysis is an interesting source of information, connections and inspiration for others.

In particular the analysis aims to:

Evaluate the development and changes in the distribution of excluded localities from the situation reflected in the original analysis until today and with a view to the current or expected emergence of new localities.
Identify the factors leading to the emergence, displacement or disappearance of excluded localities.

To achieve these, more than 20 researchers were involved in a field study carried out in a total of 306 municipalities. A subsequent verification by means of a telephone survey was then conducted in additional nearly 100 municipalities. In twenty municipalities a deeper qualitative research was carried out, focusing on projects that target the socially excluded. During the preparation stage, over 250 documents were studied.

Map of Socially Excluded Localities

As a parallel and purely practical output, the Analysis of Socially Excluded Localities in the Czech Republic also includes the Map of Socially Excluded Localities, which is available online at
http://www.esfcr.cz/07-13/oplzz/analyza-socialne-vyloucenych-lokalit-v-cr-1

The map has been created on the basis of broad-scale field research and additional research work, which was conducted in municipalities with one or several socially excluded localities. It provides a further insight into the scale and regional distribution of social exclusion, as well as individual localities and their specificities.

Key findings of the analysis

The number of people living in socially excluded localities is estimated between 95,000 and 115,000 (an increase of nearly one half compared to the estimates made in 2006 of 60,000-80,000 persons).
Altogether, 6,060 socially excluded localities and approximately 700 dormitories in the total of 297 towns and municipalities were identified.
Compared to 2006, the total number of localities has nearly doubled (from 310 to 606). The number of localities grew in all regions, although in some regions the increase has been more acute.
Socially excluded localities are becoming more fragmented, desintegrated into an ever-greater number of smaller units. The socially excluded tend to relocate or be relocated to more isolated municipalities with less functional infrastructure. Social exclusion is losing its predominantly urban character.
In remote areas or inner peripheries the emergence of clusters of socially excluded localities, which are perhaps less densely populated but cover a larger total area than those situated in urban localities, is perceived.
In terms of age structure, the number of elderly people living in socially excluded localities has been on the rise, although it is still the case that compared to the majority population, in the SEL this age group represents a significantly lower percentage (7% compared to 24% in the population as a whole).
Compared to 2006, there has been an increase in the localities without a majority Roma population, although such localities are still in the minority. In general, the localities have seen a rise in poor and frequently unemployed people, whose living circumstances essentially replicate the situation of the Roma (high levels of debt, poor education, etc.).
An enormous increase in the number of people living in dormitories has also been identified.
In socially excluded localities, the unemployed make up on average around 80-85% of the population. The rate of unemployment is higher in ethnically more homogeneous localities and in rural localities, where there is a lack of jobs.
For approximately 15-20% of the socially excluded, entering the labour market has not been a sure means of escaping the socially excluded environment. The majority of employment is short-term or obtained for an uncertain length of time and brings in a very low wage.
The total majority of the adults living in socially excluded localities have only a basic level of education, with even some evidence that over the last two decades the level of education has dropped.
The academic achievement of socially excluded children is influence by kindergarten attendance. However this influence is significantly stronger following the amount of time that children spend in pre-school institutions.
Households in socially excluded localities are generally less well equipped to prepare children for school. Of all pupils growing up in the socially excluded environment, 22% are educated in schools with a high degree of ethnic homogeneity.
In smaller towns and remote regions the social service provision is limited. On the level of regions and municipalities with extended competence, social service provision is uneven, especially in terms of social prevention and counseling.