bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parliamentary Questions
Authors: Bennett Fran
Published: September 2022

Parliamentary Questions is a selection of recent written questions from MPs to government ministers in the House of Commons. The answers from ministers highlighted in this section focus on social security matters which may be of general interest to readers. Published in daily and weekly editions of Hansard, questions and answers across a range of issues can also now be found online at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhansrd.htm.

In addition to written parliamentary questions, Hansard also covers oral answers from the ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions on a regular basis. In recent months, ministers have also started making written ministerial statements. These are printed just before the written answers in Hansard, and often cover announcements of substantive policy changes, the publication of reports, and so on.

Because of the availability of parliamentary answers on the website, only a few significant answers are now reproduced in full in Benefits. Other important answers are listed, in chronological date order, within each topic. (Please note that this is not a complete list of parliamentary answers on social security benefits, but only those which the contributor thinks fairly important and/or interesting, within the limits of space.)

The answers on the following pages cover the period from late February until late June 2003.
The slow road to tribunal reform
Authors: Adler Michael
Published: September 2022

In March 2003 the Lord Chancellor announced that the government had accepted the main thrust of the Leggatt Review and that it had decided to establish a single tribunal service, which would be independent of ‘sponsoring departments’ and accountable to the Lord Chancellor’s Department (now the Department for Constitutional Affairs). This article describes the thinking that informed two of the main proposals in the Leggatt Review, analyses the responses to these proposals of six stakeholders in the field of social security that are on the record and, in the regrettable absence of hard evidence, seeks to identify what the concerns of the Department for Work and Pensions, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Department for Education and Skills must have been and to contrast the effectiveness with which these departments managed to pursue them. It compares the government’s piecemeal approach to reform with the comprehensive approach advocated in the Leggatt Review and concludes by discussing the implications of the establishment of the new tribunal service for social security.
Research Round-Up
Authors: Rowlingson Karen
Published: September 2022

Three research projects from the Department for Work and Pensions kick off this issue’s research round-up. They aim to answer the following questions:

What makes for a good Housing Benefit manager?

How well did Jobcentre Plus deliver the New Tax Credits policy?

What can the UK learn from Australia about providing financial support for young people?

Following these reports we have four summaries of working papers from the University of Hull. These cover a range of issues of relevance to social security: the local impact of international migration; young parenthood; minority ethnic groups in rural labour markets; and ‘race’ and social research.
Combining work and care: the reality of policy tensions for carers
Authors: Arksey Hilary
Published: September 2022

Without the contribution of informal carers of disabled, sick and older people, organised social care in England and Wales could not cope. However, carers can often experience financial hardship,, poor health and social isolation, and may find it difficult to combine work and care. The government has developed policies to support carers in their caring role, while also introducing measures to assist carers to work, reflecting the emphasis on paid work as a driving force to reduce poverty. This article draws on empirical evidence to assess the effectiveness of financial and labour market support to encourage carers to work. The evidence sheds light on the tensions underlying current measures to help carers work and care.
Choice, volunteering and employability: evaluating delivery of the New Deal for Young People’s Voluntary Sector Option
Authors: Mitchell Gerry
Published: September 2022

Using findings from ethnographic research of the New Deal for Young People’s Voluntary Sector Option (VSO) delivery in London, this article discusses three elements of the policy: choice, the voluntary sector role and improving employability. Choice is looked at in relation to the allocation of work experience placements within the VSO. Choices made either by the client or on their behalf, may not maximise their employment opportunities when influenced by a lack of clarity as to their occupational futures and the short-term pressures of those advising them. The findings also outline participants’ lack of affinity with the voluntary sector and the challenges to delivery that this presents. Finally, the research finds that employability is often a very personal phenomenon and questions whether welfare-to-work interventions can or have the remit to ‘improve’ it.
Jobcentre Plus: the Bristol experience
Authors: Hall Daphne
Published: September 2022

Following recent changes to Jobcentre Plus – in particular with its telephone claims line and centralisation of the Social Fund – there have been huge problems for claimants in making claims, in contacting offices and the delays in processing. This has been acknowledged by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and although they now claim to be getting on top of the problem, it has been the subject of Parliamentary criticism too. This article looks at particular experiences in the former Avon area in 2006 and the local attempts to resolve, or at least improve, the situation.
Transformational government
Authors: Patterson Terry
Published: September 2022

What is the Transformational Government initiative, enabled by information and communications technology (ICT)? We describe its development, origins and prospects in seeking to join up public services to give simple, seamless, one-off access channels for citizens. We look at its governance and working structures, examining how ICT has been used to move towards common infrastructures and approaches in public services, bringing new potential for holistic service delivery. Finally, we show how transformational government has moved on from e-government, noting some risks that may affect its implementation. We note some particular issues affecting local government throughout the article.
Inequality and redistribution under New Labour
Authors: Sefton Tom
Published: September 2022

While Tony Blair has stated that income redistribution is not an explicit aim of his government, many of the changes it has made to the tax and benefit system have been redistributive. The experience to date highlights the challenge New Labour faces if it is to make further progress in reducing poverty and inequality. All the resources they have directed at low-income households since 1997 – and these have been considerable – have just about reduced child poverty by a quarter, while overall poverty rates and inequality have only fallen marginally or not at all. To reduce poverty further will require substantially more redistribution to the poorest, especially those unable to work. To reduce inequality will almost certainly require something to be done to curb the growth in very high incomes, as well as measures to address the long-term drivers of inequality.
Housing benefits in 22 countries
Authors: Bradshaw Jonathan , Finch Naomi
Published: September 2022

Housing benefit is an important component of the tax/benefit package. This article compares the contribution that housing benefit makes to the structure and value of the package paid to families with children in 22 countries in July 2001. It describes the demand-side housing subsidies that exist. It then examines how the value of housing benefit varies by family type and earnings level, using the model family method. Compared with other countries families in the UK receive rather small reductions in their rent, and because child tax credits are taken into account in assessing housing benefit, it is restricted to families with the lowest earnings and tends to be smaller for larger families. Some suggestions are made for reforming housing benefit.
Jobcentre Plus or minus?
Authors: Karagiannaki Eleni
Published: September 2022

This article examines the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus in terms of benefit and employment service delivery and discusses the implications of the new model of service delivery for different client groups. The evidence suggests that while Jobcentre Plus has had some positive effects on employment service, it has had a negative effect on benefit service delivery. Clients who are further from the labour market and for whom moving into employment is an inappropriate option have had the most negative experience from the new model of service delivery.
The impact of the Civil Partnership Act on the lives of same-sex couples
Authors: Dickens Sarah , Mitchell Martin , O’Connor William
Published: September 2022

The 2004 Civil Partnership Act came into effect in the UK in December 2005. It created the legal status of ‘civil partner’ and enabled same-sex couples for the first time to register their relationship and to gain a number of legally recognised rights and responsibilities. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews with members of same-sex couples to explore the personal impacts of this legislative change on their lives. The research suggests that the Civil Partnership Act has had significant positive impacts in terms of improving the lives of, and reducing perceived discrimination against, same-sex couples. It also highlights a range of effects of the legislation that for some couples were not desired.
Official Business
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: September 2022

Official Business aims to keep readers up to date with reports from government, parliamentary and other official bodies. It provides summaries of new White Papers, Command Papers, Select Committee reports and other government and official material concerning social security, poverty and other related matters. This edition of Official Business covers:

social exclusion

child poverty

take-up

Work and Pensions Select Committee reports
The problem of poverty among older people in America: options for reform
Authors: Herd Pamela
Published: September 2022

While social security has contributed to the dramatic decline in poverty among older Americans over the last 40 years, certain groups of older Americans, particularly those who are unmarried, continue to have high poverty rates. The current social security system, which links non-earnings-related benefits to marriage, fails to protect some of the most vulnerable older Americans. This article presents a range of options, both inside and outside of the social security system, to address this problem. While most policy solutions focus on altering social security, there are solutions outside of the social security system. This article considers both the pitfalls and possibilities of poverty reduction policies both inside and outside of social security.
Official Business
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: September 2022

Official Business aims to keep readers up to date with reports from government, parliamentary and other official bodies. It provides summaries of new White Papers, Command Papers, Select Committee reports and other government and official material concerning social security, poverty and other related matters. This edition of Official Business covers:

social justice, fairness and social inclusion

children and young people

social security and the New Deal

Public Accounts Committee reports
Is welfare to work sustainable?
Authors: Dickens Richard
Published: September 2022

Because a fair society and the strongest possible economy depend upon leaving no one behind, Britain must build on the reforms taking nearly one million children out of poverty and give every child the best possible start in life. So our [fourth] ambition is – by the end of the next decade – child poverty reduced by half – on our way to ending child poverty within twenty years. (Chancellor of the Exchequer, pre-budget report, November 1999)
Whatever happened to the reform of decision making and appeals?
Authors: Sainsbury Roy
Published: September 2022

The latest reform of social security decision making and appeal arrangements took place over the period 1997 to 1999 through a combination of primary legislation, new regulations and internal administrative changes. The aims of the reforms were to improve the processes for decisions and appeals, to produce a less complex, more accurate and cost-effective system for making and changing decisions, and to preserve claimants’ rights to an independent review of decisions in appropriate cases. This article looks at the evidence base for evaluating the effects of the reforms and for assessing whether they have delivered their promise of improved decision making and appeals.

The conclusion is reached that the evidence base for evaluation is actually weak. What information does exist is not sufficiently transparent. There is a major gap in knowledge about the experiences of social security claimants and tribunal appellants after the reforms, which needs to be seriously addressed.
Simplifying Statutory Sick Pay: the evidence could be better
Authors: Barrett Jane
Published: September 2022

Proposals to simplify Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules were included in the government’s Green Paper on welfare reform, but later rejected following responses to the consultation. This article looks at how SSP has evolved over time, and examines the key sources of data that can inform policy development on sick pay arrangements. The article exposes the lack of available information concerning SSP and provides details of a feasibility study that the Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned for a new survey to baseline SSP payments and costs. Developing a dedicated survey will be vital if the government revisits options to reform SSP in the future.
Call for action over UK poverty
Authors: Balls Ed
Published: September 2022

When people say that politics is not relevant and that young people are disengaged from political issues, or when some say we are all too small or insignificant to make a difference, we can reply: look at the Make Poverty History campaign. Yet here in Britain, we cannot with credibility call for an end to world poverty if we cannot take the necessary actions – and build a political consensus – to end child poverty here in our own backyard. It is a source of great shame to us all – a scar across Britain’s soul – that between the 1970s and 1990s the proportion of children in relative low-income households more than doubled to over four million.
Ill health in the family: the intersection of employment and caring across households from four ethnic groups
Authors: Platt Lucinda , Salway Sarah , Chowbey Punita , Harriss Kaveri
Published: September 2022

The employment rates of both disabled people and those from minority ethnic groups are subject to substantial UK policy attention. In this paper we set out to enhance understanding of the relationship with the labour market for those living with long-term illness and their family members. We explore the role of family caring responsibilities and ethnicity in shaping patterns of employment participation. We do this by investigating the experiences of those from four different ethnic groups and using a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach.
Parliamentary Questions
Authors: Bennett Fran
Published: September 2022

Parliamentary Questions is a selection of written questions from MPs to government ministers in the House of Commons. The answers from ministers highlighted in this section focus on social security, tax credits and poverty matters that may be of general interest to readers. Published in daily and weekly editions of Hansard, questions and answers across a range of issues can also now be found online at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/hansrd.htm

In addition to written parliamentary questions, Hansard also covers oral answers from the ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions and other departments on a regular basis. Recently ministers also started making written ministerial statements. These are printed just before the written answers in Hansard, and often cover announcements of substantive policy changes, the publication of reports etc.

Because of the availability of parliamentary answers on the website, only a few significant answers are now reproduced in full in Benefits. Other important answers are listed below, in chronological order, within each topic. (Please note that this is not a complete list of parliamentary answers on social security benefits etc., but only those which the contributor thinks fairly important and/or interesting within the limits of space.)

The answers below cover the period from early June to late October 2004. Some questions may have been addressed to the Treasury rather than to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Official Business
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: September 2022

Official Business aims to keep readers up to date with reports from government, parliamentary and other official bodies. It provides summaries of new White Papers, Command Papers, Select Committee Reports and other government and official material concerning social security, poverty and other related matters. This edition of Official Business covers:

• tax credits

• Budget 2002

• poverty and social exclusion

• social security benefits

• ONE pilots
When does residential mobility benefit low-income families? Evidence from recent housing voucher programmes
Authors: Rosenbaum James E. , Deluca Stefanie , Zuberi Anita
Published: September 2022

Policy reforms try to improve education or employment while individuals remain in the same locations – these reforms often fail. Such policies may be fighting an uphill battle as long as individuals live in the same social contexts. Findings from Chicago’s Gautreaux programme suggest that residential mobility is a possible lever. By moving into more advantaged neighbourhoods, with higher-quality schools and better labour markets, mothers had improved employment rates and children had access to better educational settings and jobs. However, a subsequent mobility programme (MTO) was conducted with a randomised field trial and child and family outcomes were more mixed We speculate about what kinds of moves and social settings are required in order to effect improved economic and social outcomes.
Poverty and inequality: Labour in the 1970s
Authors: Piachaud David
Published: September 2022

The Wilson and Callaghan Labour governments of 1974-79 have been widely vilified. Their record on poverty and inequality is examined in terms of expectations and achievements. Outcomes for the elderly, children and disabled people are examined and the distribution of earnings and income and the extent of poverty are assessed. The record of a modest reduction in poverty and little change in inequality are in marked contrast with the increases of the preceding and succeeding Conservative governments. Lessons of continuing relevance are drawn concerning the central role of redistribution.
Debates on social insurance in Brazil
Authors: Caetano Marcelo Abi-Ramia
Published: September 2022

This article provides an analysis of the Brazilian social insurance system. It explores the trade-offs between fiscal sustainability and social equity in the Brazilian context. It explains the reason for high levels of social insurance expenditure, and equity aspects are examined by exposing where the social insurance system is progressive and where it is regressive. The article also presents some challenges in social insurance policy that Brazil must address concerning coverage expansion, equity improvement and expenditure reduction. Understanding these problems facilitates better policy advice to adjust social insurance towards a reasonable equilibrium.
Falling behind? Research on transmitted deprivation
Authors: Such Elizabeth , Walker Robert
Published: September 2022

The idea of a ‘cycle of deprivation’, posited by the late Sir Keith Joseph, is again shaping policy in Whitehall. The authors question the extent to which the reappearance of Joseph’s ideas of a transmission of disadvantage between generations is justified by research. Three bodies of evidence are reviewed: studies of mobility; life-course analysis; and research that unravels the possible processes that produce intergenerational transmission. They conclude that, while intergenerational continuities exist, their apparent scale is magnified by the dynamics of social mobility. Evidence as to the mechanisms involved is fragile but hints that family processes are only important in the context of low income, and that education both propels social advance and traps the disadvantaged.
Poverty and prosperity among Britain’s ethnic minorities
Authors: Berthoud Richard
Published: September 2022

Recent research provides evidence of continuing economic disadvantage among minority groups. But the wide variation between specific groups contradicts the notion that being a member of a minority group is, in itself, associated with financial hardship. This article summarises some of the quantitative evidence about ethnic minority incomes. Chinese and Indian households are characterised by a wide range of inequality within each group, with many prosperous families as well as some poor ones. Caribbean and African households are often poorer than white households, but Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are easily the poorest groups in Britain, and depend very heavily on means-tested benefits.
Lone parents, poverty and work: policy approaches and lessons from aboard
Authors: Rowlingson Karen , Millar Jane
Published: September 2022

The UK government has set two ambitious targets: one to increase lone-parent employment and the other to eradicate child poverty. This article focuses on policy approaches and recent reforms relating to lone-parent employment in five countries (Australia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US) in order to place UK policy development in a wider context. It then focuses on two countries with different approaches to the issue of combining paid work and care work. Both the US and Norway can be described as countries with ‘adult-worker’ orientations but implemented in different ways, and with different outcomes for lone parents. We argue that if the UK government wishes to achieve both aims – increasing lone-parent employment and eliminating child poverty – it should look to the Norwegian rather than the North American model. This means that it will be necessary to consider the broader issues of gender and income inequality, as well as the specific policies related to lone-parent employment.
Volunteering and employability: exploring the link for incapacity benefits recipients
Authors: Corden Anne , Ellis Angela
Published: September 2022

The current Labour government has been keen to stress the role of volunteering and active citizenship as a means of escaping social exclusion. At the same time the government emphasises unemployment as a root cause of social exclusion, and encourages people to volunteer as a route into paid work.

This article discusses the evidence for links between volunteering and employability for incapacity benefits recipients. There is mixed evidence as to whether voluntary work acts as a direct route to paid work. For some people, volunteering can increase personal assets to offer employers, such as confidence, social skills and experience gained in a work environment. However, cultural stereotypes of people who do voluntary work may limit identification of such opportunities. Disabled people may face a number of other barriers to taking part. The authors argue that focusing too much on the role of volunteering as a route to paid work for incapacity benefits recipients fails to recognise the potential value of volunteering in enhancing quality of life and human capital.
Managing money in later life: help from relatives and friends
Authors: Arksey Hilary , Corden Anne , Glendinning Caroline , Hirst Michael
Published: September 2022

Growing numbers of older people need help with financial matters, and relatives and friends are likely to be the first involved. At the same time, older people’s financial resources are increasingly complex. In some families, differences in expectations or conflicts of interest among different members may bring further complications. A scoping study found a lack of systematic information on the role of carers in helping older people manage money and assets. Other findings from the scoping study indicate both the growing importance and the complexity of asset management in later life; the information needs of older people and their relatives and friends; and the need for further research into these issues to inform the development of policy and practice.
Permanent revolution: the case of Britain’s welfare-to-work regime
Authors: Bryson Alex
Published: September 2022

A new welfare-to-work regime is emerging in Britain, one that expects most working-age benefit claimants to be work-focused. Jobcentre Plus delivers the policy, using a range of welfare-to-work tools that reflect the complex underlying causes of unemployment. Many date back some years, but developments such as the introduction of a minimum wage, the New Deals and tax credits, mark a new departure. The successful delivery of this raft of programmes and policy interventions requires considerable organisational change. This article considers whether or not the government is on the right track.
Report Back
Authors: Dennis Judith
Published: September 2022

Report Back provides news, views and reports from local government and the voluntary and community sectors. These reports are related, whenever possible, to the special theme of each issue of Benefits, but the most important consideration is their topicality and relevance to as wide an audience in these fields as possible. Benefits may commission pieces for particular themes but individual contributions are welcomed from those working in these areas and should be sent to the Editorial Office. These contributions might focus on either local government or the voluntary and community sectors, or on relationships between the two.
Changing claims?
Authors: Patterson Terry
Published: September 2022

This article highlights how claims for key, but neglected, benefits are being reframed. There are some simplifications, but the main themes are of increased reliance on telephone contact and on new technology to share data. The article ends with a perhaps surprising conclusion.
Official Business
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: September 2022

Official Business aims to keep readers up to date with reports from government, parliamentary and other official bodies. It provides summaries of new White Papers, Command Papers, Select Committee reports and other government and official material concerning social security, pover ty and other related matters. This edition of Official Business covers:

poverty and social exclusion

social security and tax credits

children

race equality
The problem with asylum-seeker dispersal: transitions, structures and myths
Authors: Dawson Andrew
Published: September 2022

Based on research in Hull, this article considers whether initial failings of national dispersal policy were merely transitional. Declining rates of ‘drift’, whereby asylum seekers voluntarily leave dispersal sites, suggests that this may be so. However, I argue that dispersal policy is unlikely to work in places like Hull that are relatively economically depressed and ‘monocultural’. The best that can be hoped for is that asylum-seekers experience a reasonable quality of welfare during their usually short stay. In this respect, a good deal more still needs to be done. Three key issues are considered: social networks; social tensions; and support systems. Particular criticism is reserved for the continuing practice of ‘contracting out’ to the private sector.
Research Round-Up
Authors: Rowlingson Karen
Published: September 2022

Research Round-Up aims to highlight new research in the field of benefits, poverty, social exclusion and inequality. Regular contributions come from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), but we are keen to welcome contributions from anyone carrying out research in these areas. Alongside DWP and JRF in this issue we are highlighting research from the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science and also from Pete Dwyer at the University of Leeds.
Sanctions: mixed messages from the USA
Authors: Waddan Alex
Published: September 2022

In 1996 the United States embarked on a radical welfare-to-work experiment. A key element of this was the use of sanctions against welfare recipients who did not participate in work-related activities, yet the actual use of enforcement has been relatively under-reported. This article charts how sanctions have been implemented. It shows that there has not been a one-dimensional approach, with significant differences in the rules applied by different states. Furthermore, increased discretion at caseworker level has serious potential consequences for individual families. The article also notes that the overall drop in welfare rolls since the mid-1990s means that an increasing proportion of remaining recipients are those with significant obstacles to work, which raises concerns about the future use of sanctions. These issues are examined with an eye on possible lessons for the UK as the government extends the use of sanctions.
Making the most of IT: the role of local government in benefits take-up
Authors: Davies Rita
Published: September 2022

Local authorities have a unique role in ensuring that local residents maximise their incomes by claiming full benefit entitlement. The London Borough of Newham has pioneered the innovative use of IT to generate over £2 million in unclaimed means-tested benefits. A pioneering data warehouse IT system is used to match data to identify potential claimants. It then generates personalised letters telling them exactly how much they are losing and invites them to claim.
Official Business
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: September 2022

Official Business aims to keep readers up to date with reports from government, parliamentary and other official bodies. It provides summaries of new White Papers, Command Papers, Select Committee Reports and other government and official material concerning social security, poverty and other related matters. This edition of Official Business covers:

poverty and social exclusion

social security

the social fund

tax credits.
‘Just’ Tax Policies for Market-Based Democracies – An Introduction to a Wicksell Constitutional Approach
Authors: Wickman Kurt , Lingle Christopher
Published: September 2022

The conventional approach to public finance contributes to the growth in the scope of governments under liberal democracy. Orthodox analysis of tax policy utilizes a framework that aims to satisfy government revenue objectives while doing the least additional harm to the economy. An unintended consequence arises from the search for ‘optimal’ tax rates or revenue-neutrality of tax cuts that economists rely upon to ease the path to higher public-sector spending. We deem this a ‘macro’ approach that involves a top-down perspective in that it places government at the heart of the issue. An alternative approach to public finance is derived from seminal contributions by Knut Wicksell. We deem this a ‘micro’ approach to tax policy that shifts the perspective of tax policy to individual taxpayers. Applying the insights of Wicksell to public finance inquiries can contribute to halting and perhaps reversing the growth trends of governments under democracy.
Disability Working Allowance: what was the point?
Authors: Cockett Norman
Published: September 2022

Disability Working Allowance (DWA) was introduced in 1992 as a benefit to top up the wages of disabled people working 16 hours a week or more. This was the first major attempt, within UK social security policy, to help disabled people take up and remain in paid jobs. The formal evaluation of DWA suggested that the benefit had failed in a number of respects. The purpose of this article is to reflect on what was achieved by introducing DWA. The author looks at the stated objectives and other evidence about what was behind the policy, including the aims of those who lobbied government on ‘partial capacity’. The author was secretary to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) from 1988 to 1990 and subsequently worked with ministers on the development of DWA. The author aims to give some insight into the policy-making process, while respecting the confidentiality of advice given to ministers.
Escape routes from poverty
Authors: Kemp Peter A.
Published: September 2022

In recent years, researchers have begun to move away from a static, cross-sectional analysis of poverty to examine income dynamics, including routes into and out of poverty. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of what is known from quantitative research on routes out of income poverty. It shows that there is a diversity of routes out of poverty, with some routes being more important for some types of household than for others. The research supports the Labour government’s argument that work is the surest route out of poverty. But it also shows that it is not a guaranteed one, as some people who move into work remain poor. And nor is it a route that is equally applicable to all households. For pensioners and the more severely disabled people, for instance, increases in benefit income are likely to be the most effective escape routes from poverty.
‘They are not looking at the cost of living’: a study of income adequacy in Northern Ireland
Authors: Horgan Goretti
Published: September 2022

This article argues that the UK government has failed in its duty to guarantee ‘an adequate income and resources to live in human dignity’ (EC, 2002, p 27) for all. The evidence provided is qualitative, from a study of mothers and young people in the most disadvantaged parts of Northern Ireland. Mothers, particularly those on benefits, found it very difficult to provide food and warmth. They also indicated that income adequacy had an impact on their ability to ensure the best education for their children.
Towards a ‘red’ and pleasant land? The attack on poverty and the pursuit of social justice in the Attlee era, 1945-51
Authors: Page Robert M.
Published: September 2022

The post-war Attlee governments (1945-51) have come to be regarded as the most ‘progressive’ in the history of the Labour Party (Jefferys, 1992; Hennessy, 1993). In this article attention will be given to how the Labour governments of this period responded to the problem of want or poverty between 1945-1951. Consideration will then be given to the way in which Labour’s attack on poverty formed part of a broader strategy to create a more just society, followed by an assessment of the impact of Labour’s approach to poverty and its pursuit of social justice will be put forward.
Poverty and educational achievement: why do children from low-income families tend to do less well at school?
Authors: West Anne
Published: September 2022

There is an achievement gap between children from poor family backgrounds and others; this is not unique to the UK, but found in all other countries of the OECD. This article examines the reasons why children from poorer backgrounds do not, on average, do as well academically at school as those from more advantaged backgrounds. It argues that the family, income and material resources are highly significant, although schools also play an important role. Possible implications for policy are discussed together with associated tensions.
Sickness benefits in a polarised labour market
Authors: Davidson Jacqueline , Kemp Peter A.
Published: September 2022

People in insecure jobs are less likely than those in secure employment to be entitled to sick pay and are consequently more likely to claim incapacity-related benefits when they become sick. Drawing on a qualitative study, this article shows that this inequality is mirrored in the ways that insecure and permanent workers manage their ill health while in work, the consequences that result from them going off sick, and their ability to return to work when they recover. It is concluded that people on the margins of the labour market are more disadvantaged not only in work, but also in sickness.
Devolution in Wales and social justice
Authors: Bransbury Lynda
Published: September 2022

People in Wales are, on average, poorer than in Britain as a whole, with high levels of economic inactivity, poor health and child poverty. Following devolution, the new Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) pledged itself to ‘made in Wales’ policies that could tackle poverty, build a fairer and more inclusive society and generate more participative and accountable democracy in Wales.

This article considers the scope for policy divergence, given the weakness of the devolution settlement in Wales, and examines some of the flagship policies since devolution that demonstrate WAG‘s distinctive approach and commitment to a rights-based policy development. There is an unashamed emphasis on the Children‘s Commissioner for Wales as perhaps the most tangible example of a very different approach to governance, including being more directly accountable and ensuring the voices of the most disadvantaged groups are heard and valued in decision making in Wales.
New tax credits
Authors: Treloar Paul
Published: September 2022

The announcement of the government’s intention to introduce a new Child Tax Credit for families with children, along with a Working Tax Credit for low-income workers could herald one of the most radical changes to welfare support for low-income families in the UK. This article looks at what is known so far about the new tax credits and how they will operate.
Training for Jobcentre Plus: meeting the needs of carers
Authors: Starr Madeleine
Published: September 2022

This article discusses the aims and objectives of the new working-age agency, Jobcentre Plus, and the challenges faced by staff in the former Employment Service and Benefits Agency in delivering on its vision of a work-focused service designed to reach ‘hard to help’ groups. It looks at the training needs of staff involved in the new service, and how the Jobcentre Plus Stakeholder Forum contributed to identifying them. It considers some of the early successes and problems in this process, and then goes on to explore the needs of one particular client group, carers. Finally, it describes an innovative partnership project, led by Carers UK, that will support Jobcentre Plus in meeting those needs.
New Labour and paid work: a break with the past?
Authors: Page Robert
Published: September 2022

New Labour’s approach to paid work has much in common with older Labour traditions. New Labour continues to accept that paid work is the most effective means of securing economic and social well-being, and that work incentives and obligations should be maintained. However, New Labour’s enthusiasm for the market and its more circumspect approach towards collectivism represent significant changes of direction. By adopting a work first welfare strategy, New Labour has downplayed the structural causes of worklessness and undermined the citizenship rights of many of those who are currently disconnected from the workplace.
Failing to keep up? The long-term effects of current benefit and tax uprating policies
Authors: Sutherland Holly , Hancock Ruth , Hills John , Zantomio Francesca
Published: September 2022

The ways benefits, tax credits and income tax and National Insurance contribution thresholds are uprated each year have major long-term consequences for the relative living standards of different groups. Continuing current practice for 20 years, other things staying the same, could result in substantial increases in poverty, including a near doubling of the child poverty rate, alongside a substantial gain to the public finances. At the same time, pensioners are largely protected by the earnings indexation of pensioner benefits. We illustrate the distributional implications of alternative targeted policy reforms, financed by part of the resources that would be released through continuing current uprating practices.
Optimalisasi Lahan Pekarangan untuk pertanian Di Desa Magalaksana
Authors: Haris Oscar , Nurhalizah Amelia , Fauzi M.Iqbal , Juliana Nita , Ihsan Saepul , Nata Yudi , Destria Arianti Nunik
Published: September 2022

Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) pada Tahun 2022 ini dilaksanakan mulai dari tanggal 7 Maret- 31Maret 2022 yang

berlokasi di Desa Margalaksana, Kecamatan Cikakak, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat. Dalam pelaksanaan

Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) kami merancang program kerja pada bidang Pertanian, Pertanian merupakan

pemanfaatan sumber daya hayati yang dilakukan manusia mengahasilkan bahan pangan, bahan baku industri,

atau sumber energi, serta untuk mengelola lingkungan hidup. Tujuan dari Program Kuliah Kerja Nyata yaitu

untuk memberikan edukasi kepada masyarakat desa margalaksana tentang cara pemanfaatan lahan pekarangan

secara optimal, meningkatkan produktivitas dan produksi pertanian untuk lahan pekarangan yang kosong dengan

penanaman sayuran dan tanaman herbal menggunakan barang bekas dan polybag.

Kata kunci: Pertanian,Lahan Pekarangan,Kebutuhan Pangan
GERAKAN PENGHIJAUAN DALAM RANGKA MENANAMKAN RASA MENCINTAI LINGKUNGAN DESA MARGALAKSANA
Authors: Fahmi Al Gadri Feri , Nurhasanah Milah , Ahmad Siska , Gustiana Ariz , Edwinanto  , Kurniawan  , Muslih Muhamad
Published: September 2022

Gerakan penghijauan yang dilaksanakan oleh kelompok 3 KKN ( Kuliah Kerja Nyata ) terdiri dari program utamanya yaitu penghijauan desa, yang berupa : penanaman tanaman ( bunga ), pembudidayaan tanaman obat di pekarangan kantor desa , penyiangan tumbuhan liar , pengecatan kantor desa dan sebagainya. Program-program tersebut telah dilaksanakan dan diupayakan agar berjalan sebaik mungkin dan memberikan manfaat bagi desa margalaksana. Harapan program kerja KKN bagi desa ataupun masyarakat ini ialah Agar dari penanaman tanaman mampu menjadikan lahan Kantor desa ini lebih produktif, Bersih dan menarik. Dan udara sekitar kantor desa pun jauh lebih segar.
GAMBARAN KEBERHASILAN PENGOBATAN PADA PASIEN TUBERKULOSIS PARU DI PUSKESMAS SEMANDING
Authors: Sari Adelia Ratna , Purwanto Hadi , Rofi'i Aby Yazid Al Busthomy
Published: September 2022

ABSTRAK          Tuberkulosis Paru telah menjadi masalah kesehatan yang utama di dunia dan angka keberhasilan pengobatan merupakan indikator yang digunakan untuk mengetahui tingkat keberhasilan program pengendalian Tuberkulosis Paru. Pravalensi angka keberhasilan pengobatan di Jawa Timur pada tahun 2019 menempati urutan kesembilan (90%). Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengidentifikasi keberhasilan pengobatan berdasarkan karakteristik individu (Umur, Jenis Kelamin, Pendidikan, Pekerjaan), Tipe Pasien, Jenis PMO, Kategori Pengobatan, Keteraturan Pengobatan, dan Status Gizi. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain penelitian analisis deskriptif. Variabel dalam penelitian ini adalah keberhasilan pengobatan pada pasien Tuberkulosis Paru. Prosedur pengumpulan data menggunakan data sekunder dengan total sampel 67 pasien dan teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan instrument checklist. Data ditampilkan dengan distribusi frekuensi dan tabel. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian didapatkan sebagian besar berjenis kelamin laki-laki (52%), hampir setengahnya berumur 56-65 tahun (28%), hampir seluruhnya memiliki pendidikan dasar yaitu Sekolah Dasar dan Sekolah Menengah Pertama (78%), sebagian besar bekerja (69%), hampir seluruhnya merupakan pasien Tuberkulosis Paru baru (92%), sebagian besar memiliki PMO keluarga (73%), hampir seluruhnya merupakan pasien Tuberkulosis Paru dengan pengobatan  kategori 1 (94%), seluruhnya merupakan pasien Tuberkulosis Paru yang menjalankan pengobatan dengan teratur (100%),  hampir setengahnya memiliki berat badan kurang (˂18,4) (33). Kegiatan program pengobatan Tuberkulosis Paru dapat dipertahankan upaya keteraturan pengobatan bagi pasien Tuberkulosis Paru BTA (+), sehingga akan meningkatkan angka keberhasilan pengobatan pada pasien Tuberkulosis Paru. Kata Kunci : Keberhasilan Pengobatan, Tuberkulosis Paru, Pengobatan Tuberkulosis
GAMBARAN MASALAH PSIKOSOSIAL LANJUT USIA SAAT PANDEMI COVID-19
Authors: Widiani Esti , Hidayah Nurul , Hanan Abdul
Published: September 2022

Wabah COVID-19 dapat menyebabkan kematian pada lansia. Ketidaksiapan lansia dalam menghadapi akhir kehidupan termasuk kematian memunculkan masalah psikososial seperti depresi, kesepian, dan kecemasan . Lansia memerlukan spiritualitas dan dukungan sosial yang baik dalam menghadapinya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui spiritualitas, dukungan sosial, depresi, kecemasan, dan kesepian pada lansia. Desain penelitian ini adalah cross-sectional yang dilakukan pada lanjut usia. Sebanyak 142 lansia dipilih menjadi responden dengan metode purposive sampling. Pengumpulan data menggunakan kuisioner Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) short form, Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale untuk kesepian. Sebagian besar lansia memiliki spiritualitas yang tinggi (71,8%). Dukungan sosial sebagian besar pada posisi sedang (57%). Sebagian besar lansia mengalami depresi ringan (78,2 %). Sebagaian besar lansia mengalami kesepian ringan (48,6%). Sebagian besar lansia tidak mengalami kecemasan (52,1%). Lansia yang mengalami kecemasan ringan sebesar 46,5%. Peran keluarga dan pemerintah sangat diperlukan untuk memberikan dukungan pada lansia agar terhindar dari masalah psikososial terutama saat wabah COVID-19.
Peran efikasi dan persepsi diri dalam kepatuhan minum obat antihipertensi
Authors: Wahyudi Chandra Tri
Published: September 2022

Hipertensi saat ini menjadi masalah kesehatan serius. Pengobatan hipertensi yang tidak rutin menjadi penyebab peningkatkan angka kesakitan dan kematian akibat hipertensi. Penelitian ini  dilakukan untuk melihat bagaimana peranan efikasi diri dan persepsi pasien hipertensi dalam kepatuhan minum obat antihipertensi. Metode penelitian menggunakan deskriptif analitik dengan pendekatan cross sectional. Teknik sampling ditentukan secara purposive pada agregat dewasa penderita hipertensi yang sedang menjalani pengobatan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya peranan efikasi diri dengan kepatuhan minum obat, namun tidak ditemukan peran persepsi penyakit secara signifikan dengan kepatuhan minum obat pada responden (p> 0,005). Hasil riset diharapkan memberikan pengaruh positif untuk penderita hipertensi guna melindungi pola hidup sehat serta menaati penyembuhan supaya menghindari terbentuknya komplikasi efek hipertensi.