bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Social Policy since Titmuss
Authors: Donnison David 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTBritain, like other advanced urban industrial countries, is passing through economic changes more fundamental than the recession and inflation which take so much of the headlines. These changes in industrial structure have political implications which influence the distribution of power and the allocation of opportunities and rewards, both through the market and through the social wage furnished by governments. They call for a critical reappraisal of old ideas about the practice, the study and the teaching of social policy, and an attempt to formulate new approaches to this field – or to reformulate the old approaches.
Social Conscience and Social Policy
Authors: Baker John 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTElementary textbooks in a subject may well influence students more than their subsequent reading, and they show the basic assumptions of teachers. This article is based on a study of introductory reading recommended to social administration students in British universities and polytechnics in 1976. It argues that many textbooks incorporate to some extent an ideal-typical interpretation of social policy which is called ‘the social conscience thesis’. The first part of the article sets out to establish that this approach, which was one of the dominant ones in social administration, remains influential. It is still the most common interpretation of social policy at the elementary level. The article is not concerned with advanced and specialized texts, where, although the social conscience thesis is still strong, different approaches are more commonly found. The second part then attempts to explain why this approach was once so powerful and why it is still with us.
Voluntary Agencies in the Welfare State: An Analysis of the Vanguard Role
Authors: Kramer Ralph M. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTWhile pioneering has long been assumed to be the unique function of voluntary agencies, the flow of private invention to public adoption has rarely been studied empirically. Drawing on an exploratory study of twenty national agencies serving the physically and mentally handicapped, this article re-evaluates the vanguard role of the voluntary agency. Much of what has been regarded as ‘innovative’ consisted of small-scale, non-controversial, incremental improvements or extensions of programs with few original features to under-served clienteles. A series of external and internal organizational constraints to the statutory adoption of new programs is identified, which suggests that the conventional notion of voluntary pioneering is no longer appropriate. A new model of program change is proposed based on multiple outcomes and a redefinition of the concept of innovation. Some hypotheses are offered regarding conditions conducive to the initiation of new programs.
Teaching Social Policy: Some European Perspectives
Authors: Jones Catherine 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis article sets out to explore the ways in which social policy is catered for, at university level, in various European countries. It starts with a review of the ‘Sigriswil (1972 and 1973) Colloquia’ papers on ‘The Study of Social Policy: Teaching and Research’. Having weighed up the evidence – or lack of evidence – emanating from these get-togethers, the article then goes on to explore university social policy teaching – and the extent to which this may or may not constitute a coherent specialist programme – in selected West German, French, Swedish and Swiss (Geneva) university arrangements. Concluding comments on this evidence highlight several key aspects of debate so far as present and probable trends in social policy and administration education at university level in Britain are concerned.
Social Control Theories of Social Policy
Authors: Higgins Joan 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe concept of social control is crucial in explaining both the growth of social policies and their effects. It raises important questions about the legitimacy of state intervention, the maintenance of order and the protection of individual freedom. The term is widely used in the social policy literature but there have been few attempts to define it or to explore its various meanings and connotations. The aim of this article is to examine some of these issues. It begins with an account of the growth of social control theories focusing particularly upon recent developments in Marxist thought and the literature on the ‘urban crisis’ and ‘radical social work’. The second and third sections of the article explore the different usages of the notion of social control and evaluate some of the main propositions of social control theories of social policy.
Pivot or Pilot?: The Role of the Independent Members of Wages Councils
Authors: Stevenson June 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTBritain has no statutory minimum wage. There is a system of wages councils responsible for fixing statutory minimum rates in forty-one trades where wages are low relative to the average, opportunities for working overtime are variable and no adequate machinery for collective bargaining exists. A peculiar feature of this system is the presence of three independent members who form a third ‘side’ in council negotiations. This article looks back briefly over the seventy years of the existence of wages councils (originally trade boards) and the changes in function which have occurred albeit by implication rather than overtly. It then proceeds to examine the role of the independent members within the system as it is now. Do these ‘conciliators with a casting vote’ fulfil a useful function? The main problem facing them today is seen as the need to reconcile the original purpose of helping to fix a just (or less unjust) wage translated into contemporary terms with a remuneration which is reasonable and feasible under the circumstances prevailing within the trades covered by wages councils.
The Social Creation of Poverty and Dependency in Old Age
Authors: Walker Alan 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis article examines in detail some recent data on the living standards of elderly people. It is argued that poverty is related to low resources and restricted access to resources and therefore the article includes summarized information about a wide range of benefits and services. Questions are raised concerning the various social policies and processes which have contributed to the creation of poverty and dependency in old age. The growing importance of retirement is singled out for attention as one significant factor contributing to the depressed social status of the elderly, and as part of the general tendency in British society to devalue the worth of elderly people. It is thissocialrelationship between age and the labour market which deserves attention from policy-makers, who have tended to concentrate on the consequences rather than the causes of dependency.
Social administration digest
Authors: Slack Kathleen M. 
Published: January 2009

Social security and income maintenanceAs January had closed so February opened with anxiety about the effects of cuts in public expenditure on the most vulnerable members of the community. The position was outlined by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Abandoned Social Priorities. Millions of families, the pamphlet said, faced an unjustified fall in living standards as a result of the decreased proportion of national resources being devoted to the poorest section of society. At the same time they faced increased costs of school meals and transport, prescription charges, rents and clothing. In addition, the Labour Member for Birkenhead pointed out in a letter to the Secretary of State for the Social Services that because they were not informed of their right to free welfare foods only 2.5 per cent of 1.5 million families which were eligible to receive them claimed that right. He estimated that this was saving the government £125 million a year. Further spending cuts, already announced, which would amount to £1,000 million in 1980–1 augured a harsh year ahead.
Social administration digest
Authors: Slack Kathleen M. 
Published: January 2009

Social security and income maintenanceMuch unfinished social security business was completed or continued in August. Sir Arthur Armitage, Professor of Law and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, was appointed Chairman of the Social Security Advisory Committee, which took the place of the Supplementary Benefits Commission (SBC), and the National Insurance Advisory Committee under the Social Security Act 1980.
Explanation and Social Policy: ‘The’ problem of social inequalities in health
Authors: Blume Stuart S 
Published: January 2009

AbstractInequalities in rates of sickness and mortality between social groups has long been a matter of concern and of inquiry in Britain. Disciplinary differentiation has resulted in the problem now being treated within what have become three distinct intellectual traditions. These are social administration, epidemiology, and sociology, and the accounts they provide differ significantly from each other. This is partly because ‘the’ problem is somewhat differently defined in each; and partly because of their different orientations to theory and to practical amelioration. This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and raises the possibility of a more adequate explanation than any one discipline provides. The implications for study of social administration are considered.
Changing Relationships in Dutch Social Services
Authors: Brenton Maria 
Published: January 2009

AbstractSocial services in the Netherlands have traditionally been delivered by non-state agencies, in a climate of support for ‘private initiative’ and resistance to direct intervention by government. These agencies have, however, become almost totally dependent upon government finance, while operating virtually autonomously in a non-politicised sphere where services have become increasingly sophisticated and expensive. The power exercised over public resources and public services by these ‘private’ agencies, particularly at national level, and the lack of control over the welfare sector by government, has been the subject of growing criticism in recent years. The dysfunctions of a ‘voluntary’ system of social services have also become glaringly evident. This article traces the development of a relationship between state and ‘private enterprise’ in the social services which has developed from a strictly ‘separatist’ model to one where a high degree of inter-penetration has been reached. It also examines current efforts to extend this second ‘incorporated’ model of statutory-voluntary relationships by placing social welfare services under a greater measure of public control within a decentralized system of local political responsibility.
The Discriminatory System of Personal Taxation: Some Proposals for Reform
Authors: Wilkinson Margaret 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe system of personal taxation in the United Kingdom is under attack because of the way in which it discriminates between taxpayers on the basis of sex and marital status. Criticisms are allied with proposals for reform, all of which are primarily concerned with the social effects of changing the system. In this paper the various proposals have been categorized under the heads ‘conservative’, ‘radical’, and ‘moderate’ according to the social implications of the changes they advocate. Each set of proposals is discussed and evaluated in terms of revenue costs and savings to the Exchequer and real costs and benefits to the community. The proposals of the recent Green Paper are categorized as conservative and discussed under that head.
Influencing Social Policy: The Effectiveness of the Poverty Lobby in Britain
Authors: Whiteley Paul , Winyard Steve 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis article looks at income maintenance pressure groups in Britain (the ‘poverty lobby’) and provides an assessment of their impact on policy in the 1970s. It is based on focused interviews with the leaders of 42 national pressure groups, MPs, Ministers, and senior civil servants. There is a discussion of conceptual and methodological problems involved in measuring effectiveness and a review of the theoretical literature on the role of pressure groups in the British political system. The study adopts a reputational approach to measuring effectiveness rather than a series of case studies. A number of specific successes are highlighted as well as examples of ‘agenda changing’ by groups. An explanation is provided in terms of the environment within which groups were operating, the strategies they adopted, and the resources they had available. The state of the economy was a particularly important factor in the 1970s as was the ability of groups to undertake joint action and form alliances with producer interests. The article concludes that the groups in the 1970s were influential rather than powerful and had more effect in the first part of the decade than at the end.
The Politics of Evaluation: the European Poverty Programme
Authors: Room Graham 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe European Commission in Brussels ran a Poverty Programme of action projects and cross-national studies from 1975–80. An evaluation agency was set up by the Commission and carried out an evaluation of the Programme during 1979–80. This paper draws upon the experiences of that exercise in order to examine the concept and the practical implementation of a cross-national evaluation. It explores the political context of evaluation and the dilemmas and obstacles this poses for the evaluator. An evaluation exercise is an intrusion into the existing pattern of relationships among the various participants in the programme concerned. They will typically see it as an attempt at improved scrutiny and political control by its instigators – and the evaluator will therefore face a diplomatic as well as a technical task, particular vis-à-vis those participants upon whom he is dependent for the preparation of his report. This diplomacy will not take place in a vacuum, however, and its course will depend crucially upon the wider political context within which the future of the programme is being decided.
Private Agencies for Public Purposes: Some New Perspectives on Policy Making in Health Insurance Between the Wars
Authors: Whiteside Noelle 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe approved societies, who were charged with the administration of health insurance in Britain, have long been blamed for the failure of the scheme to expand its coverage or scope in the interwar period. This paper takes a closer look at the administrative process and argues that societies were more vulnerable to central regulation than is commonly thought and were unable to resist cuts in public subsidies and extensions in liability introduced at their expense. They provided a convenient scapegoat for policies emanating primarily from the economic orthodoxy subscribed to by both government and the Treasury, modified to protect the unemployed during the slump. Health insurance policy was dominated to a large extent by the Government Actuary, who aimed to guarantee the cost effectiveness of the scheme. This paper also shows how administrative definitions and practices affected the classification of claimants to state social insurance at this time. It re-establishes the major weaknesses of the system, arguing that – in the light of recent discussions about reviving a system of national health insurance – we have much to learn from looking again at the experience of the interwar period.
Equity and Efficiency in the Allocation of the Personal Social Services
Authors: Bebbington A. C. , Davies Bleddyn 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis paper investigates two issues of equity in the receipt of the home help service, one about territorial justice, the other about sex discrimination. It uses GHS data for 1980. An argument is developed about the efficiency with which services are targeted on persons who by normative criteria would appear to have most need of them. Efficiency is of two types: horizontal efficiency, the proportion of persons judged in need who receive services; and vertical efficiency, the proportion of services allocated to persons judged in need. The findings are that there is evidence of inequity both between different areas and between the sexes. Metropolitan areas are advantaged compared with rural areas, and this cannot be explained by differences in social support nor by the availability of other domiciliary services. Among the elderly living alone, neither sex is advantaged, but in elderly married couple households the home help service is more frequently provided in the case of a husband caring for a disabled wife than in the case of a wife caring for a disabled husband.
Gender and Social Policy: the impact of the public expenditure cuts and reactions to them
Authors: Edgell Stephen , Duke Vic 
Published: January 2009

AbstractIn social policy research the gender dimension has been relatively neglected in Britain. The attempt to selectively reduce public spending is examined with reference to its objective impact on men and women using official statistics and specialist reports. In addition, on the basis of a large-scale interview survey the subjective impact of and political reactions to the cuts are analysed by gender. The main findings are that this current social policy negatively affects women as both public sector workers and consumers more than men. Political reactions to the cuts were extensive but unrelated to gender per se. However, when one controls for economic activity and related variables, gender differences in terms of both political attitudes and behaviour were insignificant compared to the contrast between the economically active and inactive. The main social policy implication is that the restructuring of the welfare state hits women first and foremost.
Diffusion and the Development of Social Policy: Evidence from the Third World
Authors: Midgley James 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTComparative studies of the origins of statutory welfare services have focused largely on the role of intra-societal factors in the genesis of welfare in the industrial countries. Developments in the developing countries, which comprise the majority of the world's nations, have not been adequately researched nor has the role of diffusion in transmitting social policies and practices been properly assessed. A review of the growth of modern social welfare services in the developing countries suggests that the diffusion of ideas and practices has been particularly important in the creation of their social services. This finding illustrates the need for a more broadly-based enquiry which pays greater attention to the role of diffusion in the development of statutory welfare.
Comparative Housing Research
Authors: Harloe Michael , Martens Maartje 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe paper reviews major examples of comparative housing research which have been published in the last twenty years and suggests that the dominant approach — grounded in pluralism and convergence theory — which they exhibit is inadequate. Future studies need to be both more detailed and wider in scope, examining the dynamic of the interrelations between the institutions and the social forces involved in the provision of housing. Such a perspective is briefly developed and related to current developments in the housing markets and policies of some advanced capitalist societies. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the practical problems of cross-national housing research.
The Politics of Health: The Case of Smoking Control
Authors: Calnan Michael 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe policy of the United Kingdom government towards the control of smoking has been characterized by a non-interventionist approach such as persuasion and industrial self-regulation, as opposed to more direct intervention through fiscal policy or control over tobacco production and sales. The effectiveness of the policies adopted by the UK government is difficult to assess, although there has been a reduction over the last ten years in the proportion of smokers in the population. However, evidence from other countries shows that a more comprehensive programme including direct legislation controlling tobacco advertising has a much stronger impact on tobacco consumption. The determinants of the UK government's policy position are analysed and the evidence suggests that this policy position is determined in part by the power of the vested interests in the maintenance of tobacco production, as well as the confusion of interests within the government itself.
The Implementation of Housing Benefit
Authors: Hill Michael 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis article sees the new housing benefit scheme as a policy initiative which presents local authorities, as the implementing agencies, with enormous problems in making a success of the operation of a scheme deeply flawed because of the government's commitment to save staff costs and avoid increases in benefit costs. It looks at the way in which during the policy-making process there was a move away from the ordiginal commitment to ‘unified housing benefit’ and explores the consequences of this for implementation.
The Dialectic of Public and Private Pensions
Authors: Van Gunsteren Herman , Rein Martin 
Published: January 2009

AbstractComplex images of the differences between public and private activities are endemic in modern capitalist societies. Numerous examples can be found in the field of social policy, but this paper focuses on the historical dialectic between public and private pension arrangements. It compares the interaction over time in a number of countries of the central principles of solidarity and equivalence which have shaped the development of pension provision. Then it illustrates how an understanding of contemporary pressures for the privatization of pension arrangements as a response to the fiscal crisis of welfare states cannot be divorced from their historical and institutional contexts. The paper concludes that pluralistic pension systems offer the best prospect for rational policy analysis and debate provided that a continuing critique of, and dialogue between, the different sectors is encouraged to flourish.
Gender Inequality and Social Policy: Women and the Redundancy Payments Scheme
Authors: Callender Claire 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe article examines the impact of the redundancy payments legislation on women workers. The legislation's adequacy and appropriateness for women is assessed and the assumptions and values enshrined within it are analysed. The article demonstrates that the provisions of the legislation are disadvantageous to women in comparison to men, and that they in effect discriminate against them both directly and indirectly. Moreover, it is suggested that women's particular vulnerability to unemployment and redundancy may be partly explained by the actual mechanics of the redundancy legislation. It is argued that the legislation is based upon a male-dominated conceptualization of work and so fails to consider the position of women in the labour market — a market which by its very nature leads to gender inequalities.