In contemporary Scotland, and indeed the modern world, there are a vast array of social inequalities and divisions that pervade society. These social divisions can take many forms such as; class, race, gender, sexuality, religion and politics. There are many different government policies that are implemented to help deal with these issues, the type of policy implemented is usually heavily dependent on which political ideology is the one introducing it. Conservative governments typically implement social policy with a high emphasis on personal responsibility such as only allowing people unemployment benefit if they can prove that they are actively looking for a job, also, being conservatives, they aim to restrict welfare funding as much as possible …show more content…
(National Debt Clock , 2016) This essay will look at specific types of social issues in Scotland and the different approaches through which governments use social policy to deal with them. The issues that will be looked at in detail will be the growing levels of income inequality between the rich and poor, the gender wage gap and cuts to disability …show more content…
(House of Commons Health Commitee , 2009) There are many factors that lead to poor people having unhealthier lifestyles than those with higher incomes, for example, a lot of people do not have access to healthy foods whether because of where they live or just the fact that healthier foods are not as affordable for them as more unhealthy alternatives. Another contributing factor to unhealthy lifestyles is smoking. In Scotland, smoking prevalence amongst the most deprived tenth of the population is 43%, this is 19% above the national average and a massive 34% above the prevalence among the tenth most privileged. (ASH Scotland, 2011) This shows that the more impoverished the individual, the more likely they are to take up smoking and potentially damage their
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 Open University (2010) K101 An introduction to health and social care, Unit 3, ‘Social Care In The Community’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Social equality is the concept in which all individuals possess the same fundamental basic liberties, opportunities, moral value/respect, and social benefits. The concept of ‘equality’ has a multiplicity of meanings and definitions, and with the rise of liberalization and democratization around the world ‘social equality’ has become the most predominant. As economic openness creates greater wealth disparities, the parallel rise of democratization has enabled citizens to demand more accountability measures and public welfare services from their governments in order to manage such disparities. Although the movement towards greater social equality has made significant strides with the establishment of equal rights (especially in the 1960s following the civil rights and women rights movement), inequality is still widespread in society among different ethnicities, social classes, and even religions. Inequality is not, however, a characteristic that only encompasses/embodies developing countries, but also embodies developed countries as well.
no help from the state to support the poor, no DHSS or NHS and the
Scottish devolution, with its advantages and disadvantages, is the best example of how great political and social changes can be achieved not through bloody revolution but with the patience, intelligence and hard work of a united country but is still a work in progress.
Social care and healthcare are both included in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. In England, there are two bodies that handle matters relating to social welfare. The National Care Standards is tasked with registering bodies that provide social care. The performance and progress of the organizations are monitored by the Social Services Inspectorate. The analysis of the social aspects of care involves collecting data that is analyzed so as to identify the differences that cause variation in the health of different people. The data collected may not be simple to understand. As a result, it requires a deeper analysis so as to establish the social factors affecting health (Larkin, 2011).
Leadbetter, D. and Lownsbrough, H. (2005) Personalisation and Participation: The Future of Social Care in Scotland, London, Demos.
(2010) Socioeconomic disparities in quit intentions, quit attempts, and smoking abstinence among smokers in four western countries: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey. Nicotine Tobacco Research, Suppl:S20-33. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntq051.
The essay will be looking at , poverty, employment and unemployment, poor diets as determinants of health in this context amongst other factors such as housing, mental health, social support network, education, culture, individual behaviours, genetics, gender because they have the best documented evidence on research in health inequalities in Britain available in the Black Report (DHSS 1980; Townsend, Davidson and Whitehead, 1992), Acheson Report (Acheson 1998), and FairSociety, HealthyLives Report, and other academic sources.
This essay is aimed to explore, analyse and discuss smoking in adults. Smoking is a public health issue as such is one of the major contributors to high mortality and ill-health in the adults which is preventable (Health and Excellence Care (NICE) (2012). The United Kingdom (UK) is known to have the highest number of people with a history of smoking among people with low socio-economic status (Scriven and Garman, 2006; Goddard and Green, 2005). Smoking is considered a serious epidemic in the UK and the National institute for Health and Excellence Care (NICE, 2012) stated that 28% of adults with low economic status are tobacco smokers compared with 13% of those with economic status or having professional incomes. Furthermore almost 80,000 people died in England in 2011 as a result of smoking related issues and 9,500 admissions of children died due to being second hand smokers (WHO, 2005). This essay focuses on definition of smoking, the aim is to underline the relationship between smoking and the determinants of health and then, the size, prevalence, and morbidity trend of smoking will be explored. Furthermore, some public health policies introduced to confront the issues around smoking will be investigated and finally, the roles of nurses will identify health needs the public so as to promote good health and their wellbeing.
Walsh, M., Stephens, P and Moore, S (2005)Social Policy and Welfare, Cheltenham, Stanley Thrones Publishers Ltd
Social work has existed in many different variations since the beginning of society. Initially, in the preindustrial society, minus a few exceptions, those who couldn’t cope on their own were the sole responsibility of family members. Upon the development of the industrial revolution in the Nineteenth Century, formal social work services emerged to enable society to cope with the major changes in the social system, due to modernity, urbanization, and industrialization. These services grew significantly and were reformed repeatedly throughout the rest of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries until the United Kingdom became a Welfare State, in which the state took on the responsibility to “protect the health and well-being of its citizens” (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). Moreover, social work exists to serve the vulnerable people in the community including, the elderly, the youth, the mentally ill, the homeless, and the poor, along with many others. Although all vulnerable peoples are of equal importance in social works
Although the welfare state system has worked immensely in providing and establishing a substantial life to people, yet it has some ambiguities at times and it does face challenges due to the different policies and territories it is based in.
Almost 80% of the worlds smokers are lower middle class to lower class. (who.int) This statistic that was taken from the World Health Organization, W.H.O., shows that around the globe it is the less educated making these choices.