Mixed Economy Of Welfare System

Housing tenure is a very important issue as it sets out the ground relationship between household and residence. In England, high income is associated with owner occupation which raises certain issues of what people in England actually really own – flats or houses?
This essay will demonstrate and explore how the ‘mixed economy of welfare’ operates in the housing sector in England. The ‘mixed economy of welfare’ is a term used to describe the UK welfare system. It is made up of three sectors which work in partnership and individually in order to provide amenities and facilities. The three sectors of the mixed economy of welfare are the public sector, private sector and the voluntary sector. The public sector, also known as the state, involves the government and local authorities as well as the way in which government provides its facilities and services for the different aspects of welfare such as health (e.g. NHS), housing (e.g. council houses) & education (e.g. public schools) etc. The private sector, also referred to as the ‘market’, is fundamentally how businesses and commercial organisations work in co-operation with one another to provide their own services such as private schooling and private rented housing, for example. However, the voluntary sector (the civil society or non-profit organisations) works in partnership with other voluntary organisations to deliver services through charities & funding (e.g. Bupa). (Alcock, P. (2008).
The issue firstly discussed will be of how the state/public sector in England demonstrates in what way the mixed economy of welfare operates in the housing sector. Public housing in England is also referred to as ‘council housing’ & these types of housing are provided by government for those ...

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...hen they wish and how they wish but comes with many boundaries such as not being able to sell the house on the market if tenants have purchased the house for more than five years. Finally, the voluntary sector acts as an alternative to housing policy when the public and private sectors cannot provide for the housing sector. For example, when there was a huge rise of homelessness, the government did not wish to be a part of the issue therefore this gave the voluntary sector the ability to provide temporary accommodation to those who were needy of it such as hostels and B&B’s. Overall, this establishes how the mixed economy of welfare operates in the housing sector of England with the use of examples and references used above and show how the mixed economy of welfare changes over time and which sector is in control or has more ability at a certain time than another.