Showing papers in "Social Policy and Society in 2011"

Multiple Exclusion Homelessness in the UK: Key Patterns and Intersections

Abstract: This article presents preliminary results from a multi-stage quantitative study of ‘multiple exclusion homelessness’ (MEH) in seven urban locations across the UK. It demonstrates a very high degree of overlap between a range of experiences associated with ‘deep social exclusion’ – namely, homelessness, substance misuse, institutional care and ‘street culture’ activities (such as begging and street drinking). It also provides evidence to support the contention that homelessness is a particularly prevalent form of exclusion, with its experience reported as widespread by those accessing low threshold support services targeted at other dimensions of deep exclusion, such as drug misuse. Further, the analysis presented indicates that the nature of MEH varies geographically, with the profile of the population affected looking quite different in Westminster (London) than in the other urban locations. The main explanation for this appears to be the exceptionally high proportion of migrants in the MEH population in Westminster, who tend to report lower overall levels of personal trauma and vulnerability than the indigenous MEH population.

Welfare reform, Jobcentre Plus and the street-level bureaucracy : towards inconsistent and discriminatory welfare for severely disadvantaged groups?

Abstract: A defining feature of UK welfare reform has been concerted moves towards greater conditionality and sanctioning which has stimulated much academic debate. However, few policy articles have sought to examine how welfare reforms are actually implemented. Lipsky (1980) has shown that the intentions of policy makers may be frustrated by the behaviour of public service workers operating in a ‘corrupted world of service’. This article draws upon the findings of the evaluation of the Jobseekers Mandatory Activity to discuss how key welfare reforms are likely to be implemented. It argues that that discretion remains a significant feature of front-line practice with potentially profound implications for severely disadvantaged groups.

Changing Responsibilities and Roles of the Voluntary and Community Sector in the Welfare Mix: A Review

Abstract: Many Western states have sought in recent years to harness the energies of voluntary agencies and charitable bodies in the provision of welfare (Brandsen and Pestoff, 2006; Milligan and Conradson, 2006; Haugh and Kitson, 2007). More than ever is expected of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in supporting people and communities, entering into partnerships with governments, and delivering public services (Lewis, 2005; Macmillan, 2010). The mainstreaming of the VCS has been associated with a push towards market reform and reducing state obligations for welfare provision (Amin, 2009). In some European states – for example, Germany and the Netherlands – a three-way mix of state, market and voluntary sector dates back to the nineteenth century (Brandsen and Pestoff, 2006). In the UK too, on which this review article focuses, the delivery of public services by voluntary organisations and charities is far from new, but over the past decade local government and health services, especially in England, have been required to step up their engagement with VCS organisations (VCSOs) (Alcock, 2009; Di Domencio et al., 2009; Macmillan, 2010). Commitment to this sector by the government under New Labour was signalled by the creation for England of the Office of the Third Sector within the Cabinet Office in 2006 and the associated appointment of the first dedicated Minister of the Third Sector, initially Ed Miliband MP. Working with charities, social enterprises and community and faith-based organisations appeals to politicians across the mainstream British political spectrum (Di Domencio et al., 2009; Alcock, 2010); the ‘Big Society’ agenda of the Coalition government elected in 2010 promises a continuation in this direction of travel, albeit in a new regime of reduced budgets, service cuts and demands of more for less.

Working together to address multiple exclusion homelessness

Abstract: This article draws on preliminary findings from a two-year exploratory study to describe how different agencies and professionals work together to identify and manage the intersections between homelessness and other facets of deep social exclusion. We assess the extent to which current practice is informed by policy frameworks for ‘personalised and integrated care planning’ focusing in particular on the ‘coordinating’ and ‘sign-posting’ role of the housing support worker. We conclude with some initial thoughts as to how policy and practice might be strengthened in this area to ensure more ‘joined-up’ and continuous support for people with experience of multiple exclusion homelessness.

Disabling or Enabling: The Extension of Work-Related Conditionality to Disabled People

Abstract: This article considers the defensibility of the extension of conditionality to disabled people through a qualitative investigation of welfare service users’ opinions on the applicability of conditionality for disabled people. Three focus groups took place, with participants segmented according to whether or not they were disabled, to enable a comparison between the attitudes of those who would and would not be directly affected by the extension of conditionality analysed. The qualitative research undertaken demonstrates how much more the government must do before it can justifiably make disability benefit receipt conditional on participating in work-related activities.

Introduction: remixing the economy of welfare? Changing roles and relationships between the state and the voluntary and community sector

Abstract: Social and caring services are provided in developed economies by statutory bodies, the market, the household and the voluntary sector in combinations that vary across time and place. This themed section is about the enrolment of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to achieve government agenda, including improved public services, community empowerment and building social capital. Mainstreaming of the VCS has profound implications for individuals (service users, volunteers and paid workers), and for organisations and communities. These articles are based on contributions to an ESRC seminar series ‘Re-mixing the economy of welfare: what is emerging beyond the market and the state?’ Individual seminars explored aspects of this reform, including variations across the nations of the UK, implications for volunteers and the concept of social value. Articles in this section address some of the diversity of VCS roles in communities and relationships with welfare policies, as well as direct public service delivery. Authors focus specifically on England, Scotland and France, while recognising international debates and developments.

Comparing Men's and Women's Experiences of Multiple Exclusion Homelessness

Abstract: This article explores gender as a variable in multiple exclusion homelessness in England. Much past research has taken insufficient account of the gender of homeless people, especially the predominance of men in the single homeless population and of women heading homeless households with dependent children. Drawing on qualitative data generated in a study of multiple exclusion homelessness in London and Nottingham, the article considers three ways in which gender may act as a homelessness variable: in people's susceptibility to homelessness, in their experiences of homelessness and in their encounters with accommodation services. By comparing the accounts of homeless men and women with complex support needs with evidence from staff working for support agencies, the overall aim of the article is to offer a critical examination of the gendered assumptions of homelessness policy and practice.

Extending Working Lives? Employability, Work Ability and Better Quality Working Lives

Abstract: Faced with a changing economic and demographic outlook, this article will suggest the adoption of a proactive and preventative approach to the quality of work and ‘worklife’ for the UK's ‘older workers’. Ultimately, it seeks to explore the possibilities for the implementation of the Finnish concept of Work Ability (Illmarinen, 2005) in the context of the UK policy agenda. It will be suggest that this approach provides a policy framework that addresses recessionary pressures whilst maximising quality of life and the active ageing of individuals.

Can community-based interventions on aspirations raise young people’s attainment?

Abstract: Against the background of the ???Inspiring Communities??? programme to raise ???communitylevel???educational aspirations in England, this article considers whether the existingevidence about place and aspirations suggests that it will be beneficial.We address three questions: Do neighbourhoods have an influence on educationalattainment? Are ???community level??? aspirations a mechanism by which neighbourhoodsaffect individual aspirations? Is there evidence that aspirations are lower in poorneighbourhoods?The article suggests that the available evidence does not lead to firm conclusions; akey problem is that few studies have measured aspirations at a neighbourhood level. Itsuggests that limited spending on a pilot is a reasonable response. However, aspirationsare shaped by a wide range of other influences. This suggests that any interventions on???community??? aspirations??? should be conjoined with other programmes to support schoolsand to address inequalities between neighbourhoods.

Personal budgets and the workforce implications for social care providers: expectations and early experiences

Abstract: Drawing on two studies in England, this paper explores the workforce-related impacts that social care providers envisage, and have so far experienced, from an increase in the number of people using personal budgets. It presents findings in relation to financial and workforce planning, recruitment and retention, workforce training and service user/provider relations. The discussion considers the implications not only for providers but also care workers, service users and local authorities.

Beyond Virtual Inclusion – Communications Inclusion and Digital Divisions

Abstract: Access to and engagement with information and communications technologies (ICTs) are increasingly important aspects of social inclusion. This paper draws upon analyses of UK survey data and a review of research on communications and social exclusion published in the UK between 2001 and 2006 to examine the social distribution of access to and uptake of ICTs and to explore key factors restricting the digital engagement of young people from lower income households and communities. It argues that effective strategies to bridge digital divisions in the UK must pay more attention to the social rather than technological barriers which inhibit communications inclusion.

Discourses of Children's Participation: Professionals, Policies and Practices

Abstract: This article explores the dynamic field of children’s participation and provides fresh insight into its construction within professional frameworks as well as within the social policy process. Protectionism, developmentalism, rights and managerialism are identified as significant discourses and this article explores their articulation and negotiation through policies. The argument is that the settlement reached represents a new configuration within policy frameworks relating to children where a version of children’s rights is appropriated and mainstreamed. The interaction between children’s rights, managerialism and professional discourses are illustrated with reference to policy and legislation.

Peace Building in Northern Ireland: A Role for Civil Society

Abstract: Northern Ireland has witnessed significant political progress with devolution and a powersharing Executive in place since May 2007 These political achievements, however,conceal a highly polarised society characterised by sectarianism and community divisions,the legacy of a protracted conflict This paper is located in the theoretical discoursebetween consociationalists who argue that antithetical identities cannot be integrated andadvocates of social transformation who support greater cross-community peace-buildinginitiatives through the involvement of civil society This theoretical debate is taking placein a policy vacuum The Northern Ireland Executive has abandoned its commitment tothe previous (direct rule) administration’s A Shared Future policy and is now consideringalternatives broadly described as community cohesion, sharing and integration Usinga case study of a Protestant/Catholic interface community, this paper offers empiricalevidence of the effectiveness of one social transformation initiative involving communitygroups in a highly segregated area of West Belfast

What Drives the Recruitment of Migrant Workers to Work in Social Care in England

Abstract: This article outlines the reasons for the recruitment of migrant workers by the adult care sector in England, as revealed by participants in a multi-method study. The background to the study is the changing socio-demographic profile of the social care workforce, notably the employment of non-UK citizens in large numbers from outside traditional recruitment sources within the British Commonwealth. The article reports on 136 individual interviews with different stakeholders from the English social care sector undertaken in 2008–2009. Drawing on a theoretical framework developed during the first phase of the study, the analysis revealed a two-fold explanation of the demand for migrant workers in the English care sector. First, to fill specific staff vacancies, either through direct recruitment of workers from outside the UK or among those already in the UK; and, second, a more strategic, but less common, decision to recruit migrants with specific characteristics. The implications for social policy are set in the context of political concerns about migration and concurrent political aspirations to improve social care through resolving recruitment difficulties.

Conditionality and homelessness services; 'practice realities' in a drop-in centre

Abstract: This article provides insights into the client−practitioner interaction, as understood through the eyes of those working at the front-line in a Drop-in Centre for homeless clients. Through a case-study analysis of ‘official’ techniques and informal approaches, it is argued that conditional practices are present in contemporary support practices. However, the picture is fragmented, with practitioners arguing for, but also deviating from, conditional strategies that aspire to shape client behaviour. Choices about appropriate responses are occasionally permeated by ‘top−down’ policy messages that aim to responsibilise and generate change in clients. However there is evidence of ‘bottom−up’ drivers informed by experiences of working with clients at the grassroots. These ‘practice realities’ shift an analysis of conditional tactics from just a moralising and disciplining approach, and suggest a more complex set of events at the front-line. Insights add to ongoing commentary about an apparent policy emphasis on rectifying the behaviour of citizens at the sharp end. Conclusions highlight the role of complexity for understanding therapeutic and disciplining elements in policies and practices. Such debates are especially relevant where they connect to the care and control of individuals understood by practitioners as both transgressive and vulnerable.

Educational Expansion and Social Mobility: The Scottish Case

Abstract: For over a century, the goal of reducing class inequalities in educational attainment has been based at least in part on the belief that this would help to equalise life chances. Drawing upon the main findings of three ESRC-funded projects, this paper reviews the empirical evidence on trends in social class inequalities in educational attainment and the role of education in promoting social mobility in Scotland. The findings show that in the second half of the twentieth century, despite the increase in overall levels of attainment, class differences in educational attainment persisted. Educational policies in Scotland supported educational expansion which allowed larger numbers of working-class children to climb the social class ladder than in the past. However, these did not translate into any break with the patterns of social inequalities in the chances of entering the top-level occupations. The conclusions highlight that educational policies on their own are not powerful enough to change patterns of social mobility which are mainly driven by labour market and social class structures.

Policy Change under Devolution: The Prism of Children’s Policy

Abstract: Children's policy has emerged from the shadows of family and education policy over the last decade throughout the UK. The decade has also seen political and policy transformation, with the change of government from Conservatives to New Labour in 1997 and the latter's delivery on its promise of devolved administrations. Devolution has accompanied claims and attempts to move from ‘government to governance’, to recognise and support partnerships and encourage greater civic engagement.Scottish children's policy is a prism to review key questions of devolution and its impact on policy change. The article traces and considers policy trends, to conclude that distinctive government structures have interacted with other influences to shape change, allowing more and ‘new’ room for community interests, political parties and distinctive policies.

Missing Elements of a Child Protection System in China: The Case of LX

Abstract: Many of the systems which had protected vulnerable children in China have broken down, but China has not developed a modern child protection system. We present initial findings from a project which investigates responses to child abuse and the potential for developing a comprehensive protection process. The research found that physical chastisement is commonly practised. Other forms of maltreatment tend to be denied. There are no mechanisms to report abuse and no organisation taking a lead in child protection. Furthermore, there is great reluctance by professionals and the public to identify or report child abuse and neglect.

Personalisation and partnership: competing objectives in English adult social care? The Individual Budget Pilot Projects and the NHS

Abstract: As in other countries, improving collaboration between health and social care services is a long-established objective of English social policy. A more recent priority has been the personalisation of social care for adults and older people through the introduction of individualised funding arrangements. Individual budgets (IBs) were piloted in 13 English local authorities from 2005 to 2007, but they explicitly excluded NHS resources and services. This article draws on interviews with lead officers responsible for implementing IBs. It shows how the contexts of local collaboration created problems for the implementation of the personalisation pilots, jeopardised inter-sectoral relationships and threatened some of the collaborative arrangements that had developed over the previous decade. Personal budgets for some health services have subsequently also been piloted. These will need to build upon the experiences of the social care IB pilots, so that policy objectives of personalisation do not undermine previous collaborative achievements.

Scotland's Civic Society v. England's Big Society? Diverging Roles of the VCS in Public Service Delivery

Abstract: The devolved governments and parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland increasingly have been adopting different approaches from England to the delivery of public services. With more powers and responsibilities, Scotland has initiated these moves to divergence, not least with respect to the roles of volunteering, the Voluntary and Community Sectors (VCS) in the context of the ‘Big Society’. This article explores how the environment and institutions in Scotland increasingly are generating moves for different relations between the public, private and VCS. With key powers reserved for the Westminster parliament, differences are demonstrated in the position and development of the VCS.

Review article: Homelessness and Housing Support Services: Rationales and Policies under New Labour

Abstract: This discussion offers a thematic introduction and contextual framework across the welfare domains of homelessness and employment. The Labour Government (1997−2010) introduced a range of policies, which drew connections between homelessness and employment strategies. Such approaches were indicative of efforts to responsibilise and empower marginalised groups by way of conditional responses, which intended to steer clients towards independent and ‘active’ citizenship. In this context, work-related activities were regarded as transformative and meaningful. In broad terms, this approach can be understood as part of a wider set of therapeutic interventions that aimed to support clients with multiple support needs, albeit through somewhat coercive and regulatory overtones (Harrison and Sanders, 2006). A review of social policies developed under the Labour Government is useful for a critical understanding of welfare approaches and practices during that period, and it also enables us to evaluate how far there is continuity or change in approaches in successive political administrations. Labour introduced a set of policy principles that represented distinctive responses to disadvantaged groups, and this review highlights some of the key rationales and techniques of governance from that era. The conclusion will discuss the potential legacy for welfare policy, with specific reference to the Coalition Government.

Welfare State Regimes and Reforms: A Classification of Ten European Countries between 1990 and 2006

Abstract: As from the beginning of the 1990s, almost all European countries have introduced wide-reaching social changes, among others in eligibility, entitlement, benefits structures and in the sources of financing. In this article, we propose that a consequence of those reforms may have been a repositioning of some countries in the welfare clusters. To test this hypothesis, we apply the two bi-dimensional classifications of Bonoli (1997) and Kautto (2002) to ten countries as representative of different welfare regimes. Our results reveal an interesting repositioning of some countries, especially Portugal, the UK and Sweden that represents evidence of welfare state reforms.

Re-Mixing Digital Economies in the Voluntary Community Sector? Governing Identity Information and Information Sharing in the Mixed Economy of Care for Children and Young People

Abstract: This article critically examines the governance of identity in the context of children's social care. There is a widespread assumption in government policy and technical practice that information can be integrated across organisations and sectors. This article questions these assertions using a case study (‘Mary's story’). It draws on a range of insights from the philosophy of Charles Pierce, information systems practice and social theory. This provides a platform to explore the governance of identity information for VCS organisations, service providers, and user(s). The logics of the governance of identity information in current and future service co-ordination and delivery are examined.

Review Article: Human Rights Based Social Policies – Challenges for China

Abstract: This review article discusses findings from current Chinese social policy literature about the dilemmas facing the Chinese government to reform China's residual social policies, from historic, socio-economic and political perspectives. It explores how human rights based policies and transparent management are beginning to be reflected in recent literature as the policy changes emerge from current social and political development in China. China is emerging as a new important international force, both economically and socially. Its social policies are at a turning point as it shifts to a middle developed country and as the world witnesses the emergence of a new welfare state.

Informal Kinship Care of Orphans in Rural China

Abstract: This study examines kinship care of orphans throughout China. It finds that in addition to children becoming orphaned if both parents die, some children are treated as orphans when their father dies and rural traditional kinship care obligations restrict the viability of widowed mothers continuing to care for their child. When mothers are forced for socioeconomic reasons to leave the paternal extended family, children effectively become orphans, dependent on ageing grandparents. Girls and disabled children are most at risk. Implementing financial and other support to orphans, widowed mothers and kinship carers could improve the sustainability of these family relationships.

Between state and market: the non-profit workforce in a changing local environment

Abstract: This article explores some impacts of relationships between the third sector, the state and the market on the non-profit sector workforce in Reading, England. We argue that: the growth of state influence has brought forth paid and unpaid workers to represent the sector to the state; in most non-profit organisations paid workers create the conditions for unpaid work. For a minority the opposite is true; labour in the non-profit sector is influenced by competition from the private sector for workers and ‘clients’; workers’ paid work, family commitments and market services limit volunteering, especially for what we term ‘lifestage’ volunteers.

‘As People Get to Know It More’: Experiences and Expectations of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 amongst Local Information, Advice and Advocacy Services

Abstract: Information, advice and advocacy agencies are important providers of information and support to older people in the community. This study explored the role of Age Concern staff across North London in providing timely information and advice relating to advance decision-making should capacity become impaired for a variety of reasons, particularly in relation to the newly implemented Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Findings suggest that staff had varied knowledge of the MCA and most lacked confidence in providing detailed advice. Given the wide-reaching scope of the MCA, differentiating between information, advice and advocacy may be necessary.

Creating Community Cohesion: The Power of Using Innovative Methods to Facilitate Engagement and Genuine Partnership

Abstract: National policies implemented at local level require marginalised community groups to work with public sector agencies and professionals. It can be a significant challenge to work across these boundaries. This article explores how creative and visual methods can be used to support people from so-called ‘hard-to-reach’ groups to articulate complex thoughts and ideas, and communicate their experience of living in their communities. Examples are drawn from the authors’ recent work in the north of England on regeneration and social cohesion, in which university staff collaborated on separate projects in partnership with – and driven by – community groups.

Interagency Working to Support the Health of People Who Are Homeless

Abstract: Interagency working is a recurrent theme in homelessness policy literature, but is ill defined and rarely addressed in UK homelessness research. This article draws on findings from a study that explored how interagency working is achieved between statutory and voluntary sector services concerned with improving the health of people experiencing homelessness. We argue that a focus on the health needs and behaviours perceived as being a risk to the general population directly influences interagency working and how professional networks organise themselves. The findings are discussed with reference to the impact of social policy on the health of people who are homeless.

Socio-Spatial Variations in Community Self-Help: A Total Social Organisation of Labour Perspective

Abstract: Previous studies have suggested that community self-help in affluent populations revolves around engagement in formal community-based groups, whilst the participatory culture of deprived populations is more orientated towards informal (one-to-one) community participation. Reporting the findings of 861 face-to-face interviews conducted in affluent and deprived urban and rural English communities, and reading participation in community self-help through the lens of a ‘total social organisation of labour’ perspective, this article transcends this dichotomous depiction and provides a finer-grained more multi-layered mapping of the multifarious varieties of community self-help and its socio-spatial variations. The article concludes by exploring the implications for theory, practice and policy.