Introduction/Thesis
The aim of this special study is to examine how the law regulating social housing has transformed since the 1950’s to more self-regulation. This scatters accountability to multiple actors– leaving the state largely unaccountable when something goes wrong. Considering the sources below, I aim to propose a solution that shifts accountability to a single body – state. The state must accept the role as the primary enforcer or provide adequate funds to enable specialised regulatory bodies to enforce compliance. Bottom line: when there is more than one person holding the umbrella, someone is inevitably going to get wet. Self-regulation is not effective enough to ensure everyone is covered sufficiently. Additionally, the state
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To do this, he shows how regulation has changed from state regulation to self-regulation through the privatisation of publicly owned industries, for example, the railway. He points to an important cause-effect relationship between privatisation and the regulation boom.
This study will refer to his arguments that there is a problem with the current self-regulating state, evident in the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In particular: its effectiveness and failing to protect the whole community against unknown risks, the ineffective relationship between regulators and the regulated and the inadequate supply of resources needed to create a single indivisible regulating authority composed of experts.
The regulating state is not going anywhere, there needs to be a change from a largely untrusted self-regulating state to state regulation. Furthermore, social regulation should triumph over economic regulation. State actors should shift their focus on ensuring there is a specialised inspectorate that everyday citizens can hold accountable. The barriers to justice need to be removed and access to take action against a failing regulatory body should be widened. The state must be held more responsible to ensure large powerful actors do not take advantage of regulation for purely economic interest. If compliance is not adhered to, strict fines and
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Furthermore, the law as it currently stands is outdated; that unfortunately was not transparent enough until the tragedy occurred at Grenfell. The Housing and Subsidies Act 1967 and the Housing Cost Yardstick need to be revisited and be made more adaptable to changing times – increasing limits on amounts spent on social housing and providing a closely watched regulatory body. If it is not corrected, the UK will continue to endure a housing crisis and citizens will still be living in unsafe and unowned
This book also elaborates on the study of rulemaking by giving examples through cases, studies, loads of government documentation and interviews with policy makers. Following the information and chapters is really easy. The book is illustrated with clear tables, charts, and figures. Each chapter is clearly defined and tables/figures are clearly marked after the table of contents.
The notion of overseeing welfare wasn’t always the case in the UK. Before this the ‘Poor Law’ was operated. (1598-1948) This consisted on a basis that the poor amongst society were essentially a problem of their own making and in turn needed to be punished because of this. ‘Those without jobs were lazy, feckless or in some other way delinquent’ (Coats: 34: 2012) Welfare was deemed to be a privilege, a goodwill gesture from the rich to the poor. Harsh living conditions and the punishments were seen as motivation for the poor to strive to improve their own lives.
Britain is currently undergoing the biggest overhaul of the welfare system since its introduction. The welfare system was first established with the assurance that people less fortunate would be able to have a standard of living that would ensure equality. But the recent amendments brought into place by the current government’s legislations may see the biggest divide between rich and poor since the days of the work houses. How will claimants be affected and who will be affected the most is an issue that will be examined more closely. The current government believes that Britain has become a welfare dependant state and according to BBC news (2013) 2.49 million are currently unemployed; those who are unemployed will also have entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit. All claimants will be affected by what will be known as Universal Credits. Universal credits will combine all existing benefits in to one payment; the amount a household can claim in welfare will be capped, this new system could have a catastrophic impact on people’s lives. Furthermore the government does not believe that a person should have full housing benefit if the home in which they reside has extra bedrooms, so introduction of the Bedroom Tax was implemented April 2013. The National Housing Federation website has given a detailed description of who will be affected and the implications it may have on tenants. But already only three months in to the bedroom tax and it has been reported “more than fifty thousand people have fallen behind on their rent and face eviction” Independent (2013). This report is going to concentrate on the affects the aptly named Bedroom Tax is having on people’s ...
The lack of available social housing is mainly due to stock levels steadily diminishing each year since 1980, after tenants bought nearly half-a-million council houses under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme. This coupled with the decline in house building; which is currently at its lowest level since 1946, has brought about a shameful lack of affordable public housing (Turffrey, 2010).
Kennedy A. (2014) Castle Vale Housing Action Trust: Lessons in Regenerating Communities Lecture, University of Birmingham.
Housing Affordability in Australia has become the focus point for urban planners in recent years. In particular, South East Queensland (SEQ) has experienced significant pressure as the demand for property and affordable dwellings increases and population growth in the region continues. The issue has come to the forefront in discussions for local governments in the region and there is a real need to address the problem of housing affordability. The subject of affordability is complex and is contributed to by a number of factors including the impost created by Council processes, which is the scope of the HAF-T5 Project.
After World War II returning veterans faced a shortage of affordable housing at home. The Housing Act of 1949 was passed in order to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, the act led to unforeseen complications that would exacerbate the urban crisis farther. Affordable high-rise housing built as a result of the act would force people who could afford it to move out into the growing suburbs and the poor devour the structures. As a result of displacement and previous Supreme Court decisions blockbusters would move African Americans into previous white neighborhoods which caused the movement of segregated districts within the cities to change.
Our healthcare system has developed into a burden for most people and has terrible consequences for others. It consists of everyone paying for healthcare as a whole, instead of people paying for themselves. This system of healthcare has burdened the people who take care of themselves and have money, but extends the life of people who do not take care of themselves and live in poverty. This is not pleasant for the one’s who decided to go to school and make well over minimum wage. In turn, they are the individuals who end up paying for the people who decided to make bad decisions in their life that put them in the minimum wage position. Clearly, laws regulate the insurance companies but these regulations do not make any sense to many. Balko explains that, “More and m...
The biggest complication with welfare is that way too many individuals have become dependent on the government, when the assistance should have only been temporary. A solution to reducing the amount of dependent families could be to reform housing benefits and social housing. The Government should look at ways to increase home ownership and reduce the work disincentives created by social housing (O’Brien). Discouragin...
1. Write a summary of your policy issue that includes the policy or policy issue. (5pts)
The aim of this assignment is to analyse the development of British social policy, in relation to the development of children services. The author will explore the social policy responses to child protection from 1842 to 2011. This topic of social policy was chosen by the author because it is his area of social work he would like to practice in the future. In the beginning of the assignment the word will describe what social policy and child protection means in her/his own words linking it to other definitions. The essay author will analyse how child protection has develop looking at past legislation and how children’s deaths have influenced the way children services work today. Using different research the essay author will evaluate the benefits and challenges offered by inter-agency, inter-professional partnership working with children and families. In the conclusion, the authors will a brief description of what he/she have written.
Compare and contrast the ways in which housing inequalities are discussed from the perspectives of social policy and criminology, and economics (TMA 02)
This paper will be predominantly focusing on public housing within Ontario. Not only will it look at the basics of Ontario but examine more directly on Regent Park within Toronto. It will discuss what public housing is and the explanation for why it exists, the government housing programs that are present with regards to public housing and the results of the government programs. The Purpose of this essay is to argue that the problem of public housing will never
Redmond, D. (2001) Policy Review Social Housing in Ireland: Under New Management, Britain: Oxfordshire’, 1(2)
Moreover, as Parker argues it can attract international attention. This essay will firstly attempt to explain the situation of the electricity industry before 1997 and the changes it was subjected to, then it will identify the regulation office responsible for this industry and the role it plays, and finally it will highlight the benefits and the drawbacks of this regulation. I- The situation of the British electricity industry A)