En France, it is estimated that 30% of people eligible for social benefits do not request them, or almost a third. This is what we call non-take-up of rights: the fact that a person eligible for a right, a social benefit or a public service does not claim it or does not use it. For the Active Solidarity Income (RSA) alone, 34% of eligible households have not exercised their right, which represents between 3 and 5 billion euros not paid each year, according to the Research and Development Department. studies, evaluation and statistics (Drees). Significant savings for the state coffers, the estimated amount of which is much higher than that of social fraud, but a certain shortfall for many French people in need.
In Gironde, the non-recourse rate is also estimated at around 30%. But the figures for each benefit (RSA, activity bonus, allowance for disabled adults or housing assistance) are few, due to a lack of tools. “Non-recourse is difficult to measure for the social security organizations that we are,” assures the Family Allowance Fund (CAF), because it is particularly very difficult to identify people who have not granted any rights, without a precise investigation. “In essence, we do not know those who do not ask for their rights,” adds the Department of Gironde, which does not provide any figures by territory. Most of the municipal social action centers (CCAS) contacted in the Bordeaux metropolitan area were also unable to provide more details.
How to explain it?
In Mérignac, a town of 76,000 inhabitants in the Bordeaux metropolitan area, a Social Needs Analysis (ABS), requested by the CCAS, still made it possible to provide some estimates. In this city, 8,000 people should receive the activity bonus. However, only 6,000 received it. About 2,000 people didn't ask for it. Same thing for complementary health insurance (C2S), health coverage also financed by the State, for low incomes. 5,300 people benefit from it, out of 7,400 people identified as eligible.
For what reasons? “First there is ignorance. Many do not know what they are entitled to or do not know what is available. Then, there is an administrative question, with a lot of documents to provide, which can be complex for the target audience,” explains Pascal Delanchy, director of solidarity and social action at the CCAS of Mérignac. “Sometimes, there is also discouragement, especially for those who are not comfortable with digital, with a fear of making a mistake, when everything is dematerialized. Finally, some feel that this aid is not for them and do not want to be stigmatized. There is a form of shame. »
In public services too
Non-recourse also applies to public services. “Contrary to what one might think, the poorest populations are not those who use public money the most, whether in health, education, transport, justice or culture,” explains during a social forum in Mérignac Hervé Guéry, director of the Compas firm, which carried out an Analysis of the social needs of the municipality.
For example, in Mérignac, the solidarity pricing set up in school restaurants to help low-income families is rarely used by them. Some mothers prefer to pick up their child at lunchtime from school, even if it means paying more for meals. This is also the case in other municipalities. A paradoxical situation, when this public policy aims precisely to help the poorest. Children from low-income families are also those who go to holiday centers the least, despite existing aid. “There are cultural reasons but also a lack of anticipation. The most precarious, with an economic situation and unstable employment, find it more difficult to anticipate and plan for the future,” explains Pascal Delanchy.
In the CCAS, “social workers spend their time opening up rights and supporting people,” he assures. Actions are carried out in cooperation with all the stakeholders involved, such as the “Zero non-recourse territories” system in Gironde, set up in Talence, in Pays foyen or Nord-Médoc. The CAF de la Gironde has also created an Access to Rights Department, made up of 23 employees. Some elected officials are campaigning for automation of rights. But in a context where the government is seeking to reduce its debt, in particular by drawing on communities, policies to combat non-recourse risk losing weight.
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