Social Policy
In This essay I will look at what is new about New Labour in regard to
social policy. To begin a description of social policy is provided
together with a brief history of the welfare state in Britain. A
strong debate exists in social policy as to whether provision is about
social care or control. This debate will be explored. The three
prevailing political ideologies Social Reformism, Market Liberalism
and the Third Way will be discussed in regard to social provision and
their policies will be compared. Finally I will identify aspects of
New Labour policies that establish it as a new way of thinking in
regard to social welfare policy
According to Marsh (1979) social policy can be described as action on
the part of the state or voluntary organisations to deal with the
myriad variety of individual and social problems in a complex
industrialized society. Marsh (1979) argues the state has, over the
centuries, attempted to provide help to the poor, and to overcome many
other forms of 'social evils' such as improving living and employment
conditions, education and healthcare etc through legislation and
voluntary action. Hill (1993) goes on to say that the study of social
policy, in Britain, is primarily concerned with the extent to which
the welfare state meets the needs of people and the extent to which it
contributes to social equity.
During and after the Second World War social policy and its
implementation began to develop into a highly significant and
important area within the political realm. It was this period that
gave rise to the welfare state and introduced legislation that brought
about the:
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Marsh, D. (1979) Introducing Social Policy. London: Routledge
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Pantazis, C and Gordan, D. (2000) Tackling Inequalities. Bristol:
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Piachaud, D. (1998) Changing Dimensions of Poverty, in N.Ellison and
C.Pierson, Developments in British Social Policy. Hampshire: Macmillan
Piachaud, D and Sutherland, H. (2002) Child Poverty in Britain and the
New Labour Government, Journal of Social Policy, vol. 30, no. 1, pp.
95-118
Pierson, C. (1998) Theory in British Social Policy, in N.Ellison and
C.Pierson, Developments in British Social Policy. Hampshire: Macmillan
Walker, A. and Walker, C. (1987) The Growing Divide: A Social Account
1979-1987, London: CPAG Limited
When considering social welfare in the United States, one can clearly notice that there is a wide range of different policies. According to Howard Jacob Karger and David Stoesz, provided benefits that are intended to meet the essential life needs of individuals (such as active work, revenue, relationships, health care, sustenance, and shelter), (which) are regulated under social welfare policy (2010, p. 3). For the purpose of this paper, we will analyze a specific social welfare policy known as president Obama’s Race to the Top initiative. In general terms, this policy was shaped on four areas of core education reform, which will be discussed later. Even though the main subject is centered on education, this policy clearly has many different focuses. For this reason, we will mainly focus on higher education. This includes the following goals: helping families in the middle class afford college, keeping the cost of college down, building more strength within community colleges, and increasing public participation in government (The White House, n.d.). The most attention will be given to the individual initiatives related to making college more affordable and keeping college costs down.
To describe two key policies that have been instigated since the start of New Labour in 1997, and to examine a contemporary social policy relating to health.
Exploring Social Care Policy and Provision Defining poverty is not easy and there are several reasons for it and again in different countries levels of poverty differ depending on culture. Dallos, R and McLaughlin, E describes one reason for poverty being ‘the welfare state, and calls for fundamental changes in its operation’. I will be exploring how poverty and the welfare state are linked how it has emerged and what has been done to help eradicate this for those immersed in this lifestyle. One of the ways people can be helped and poverty can be targeted is though through welfare rights Bateman, N (2005). I will look at the role of the welfare rights unit where I had my first practice placement and will look at their role in the continuous struggle against poverty.
Policy Analysis is a complicated topic in the field of social work. It is used as a means to study and understand a policy in all of its dimensions. There are different dimensions of a policy analysis, but the purpose of the analysis determines which parts are to be taken into consideration. The policy itself can alter the policy analysis. I have created a program that deals with child welfare, and it will require me to complete a policy analysis.
Being raised in a single-parent lower class home, I realize first-hand the need for welfare and government assistance programs. I also realize that the system is very complex and can become a crutch to people who become dependent and complacent. As a liberal American I do believe that the government should provide services to the less fortunate and resources to find work. However, as able-bodied citizens we should not become complacent with collecting benefits and it is the government’s job to identify people who take advantage of the system and strip benefits from people who are not making efforts to support themselves independently. I will identify errors that exist within the welfare system and several policy recommendations to implement a change that will counteract the negative conditions that currently exist.
Many Americans today in the United States participate in some form of social welfare. Social welfare program, any of a variety of governmental programs designed to protect citizens from the economic risks and insecurities of life. These programs provide benefits to the elderly or retired, the sick or invalid, dependent survivors, mothers, the unemployed, the work-injured, and families. Just in case my client are unaware of the programs I will give them a list of programs from the federal safety net website such as Negative Income Tax – Two tax credit programs are administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to distribute money to low-income Americans. The tax credits include a “refundable” portion
This essay will address whether New Labour contained policies with which it wished to pursue, or was solely developed in order to win elections. It is important to realise whether a political party that held office for approximately 13 years only possessed the goal of winning elections, or promoted policies which it wished to pursue. If a party that held no substance was governing for 13 years, it would be unfair to the people. New Labour was designed to win elections, but still contained policies which it wished to pursue. To adequately defend this thesis, one must look at the re-branding steps taken by New Labour and the new policies the party was going to pursue. Through analysis, it will be shown that New Labour promoted policies in regards
In 1997, Tony Blair of the labour party won the United Kingdom’s general election on the ideology, goals and a party manifesto of a ‘new labour’, a revision, an update and a reform of the old labour party, bringing new radical politics to the 20th century - although some believe that labour only won the election due to the British publics increasing hate for Thatcher and the conservatives. The term new labour was a reflection on how the labour party was trying to reform itself and depart from the ideas of ‘old labour’ that had failed to win an election since 1974 and take on new ideas and politics that seemed radical, new and progressive and that would regain trust from the British voters. ‘New labour, new for Britain’ was the slogan that first appeared on the party’s manifesto in 1996 and soon became the party’s main slogan for the campaign of the 1997 elections. But how exactly was new labour new? New labour was trying to become more progressive with its politics that reformed all of the key policy domains that the government were interested in. By attempting to reform the party’s manifesto as well as clause IV, new labour attempted to become a new party that could progress British politics rather than rely on traditional politics of old labour. New labour wanted to modernise the party’s by perusing their traditional goals which include job support, economic growth, investments in public services, welfare and redistribution but they also wanted new progressive politics that catered to the minority groups in terms of social justice, for example civil partnerships (King,2002). However, some argue that new labour was not particularly ‘new’ and instead that Blair’s government had betrayed the traditions of the labour party and inst...
The poor are everywhere it seems. They are on the street corner, in the local 7 Eleven, and in the plaza. Sometimes I get sick of them and even angry with them when they pester me for money. I ask myself, "Is the best way to deal with poor, to give them money from my pocket?" It's obvious that other people have given them money from their pockets at different times. If no one had ever given them money, then these people wouldn't be standing here asking for money. The fact is, many poor people ask for money because they know they can get money that way. For most of the last 70 years our government has indirectly given the poor money from our pockets, through taxes and welfare. Not surprisingly, people have continued to ask for money. For most of those 70 years welfare fed the mentality that the best way to get money was to ask. I believe welfare as it was first started, failed miserably and created millions of dependents in poverty instead of independents above poverty. The welfare reform of 1996, I believe has helped the poor escape from the trap of poverty and is a more beneficial way of dealing with the poor.
Social Policy is an analysis of the social services and the welfare state. The welfare state is what gives individuals the chance to bounce back after adversity that may happen in their lives. Social policy is used to develop and deliver services to society to meet the welfare and wellbeing needs of those who may need it (Alcock, 2008, p.2). Social policy focuses on unemployment, people with disabilities, elderly, vulnerable and less-able people, single parent families and how help and support to them can be delivered in the best way possible. Social policy notifies the way in which health services, legislations and policies are conveyed. Over time, governments have either changed or built on existing legislations and policies in response to
The Labour party has had a long and tenuous history in British politics and has helped shape Britain into the great nation it is today. Whether it was the post-war majority government of Clement Atlee deriving from the ‘bowls of the trade union movement’ or the so called new labour government under Tony Blair, the Labour party have been integral in the progression of modern British politics and has a long and interesting history.
This does not really apply to this policy. While it does isolate the poorest seniors and gives them more benefits, this is not blaming them and is actually helping them survive.
Social welfare is an expansive system proposed to maintain the well being of individuals within a society. This paper will explain the progression from the feudal system and church provisions for the poor before the Elizabethan Poor Law to the gradual assumption of the responsibility for the poor by the government. A responsibility assumed not out of humanity and concern for the poor, but as a process of standardizing the ways in which the poor were to be managed. The history of social welfare reflects differences in values as they relate to social responsibility in taking care of the needy. Our society has been influenced by values like Judeo-Christian humanitarianism and the economic doctrine of laissez faire. Our present social welfare structure is also influenced by these values.
Policies govern the way in which we live. They dictate and shape our lives and distinguish which services are being implemented by the agencies many of us work for. Furthermore, social welfare policies are put in place to help the client population we service and are designed to promote the wellbeing of its citizens. Social welfare policies were designed to “service the needs of particularly vulnerable or disadvantaged groups such as foster children, low-income families living in inner-city areas, or people with mental illness” (Midley, 2009, p. 5). Social welfare policies affect us on many levels and is not only designed to protect the vulnerable population but also to protect employees benefits which include but are not limited to the benefits such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. These policies recognize that we all have a hierarchy of needs and in order for us to reach our fullest potential, those needs must be met as mentioned by Abramovitz.
Social policy, with a variety of definitions, has been part of academic debate among scholars. However, some scholars would emphasized that social policy is an instrument of government projected to promote welfare (Wilding, 2007; Dorwart, 1971). On the contrary, more pessimistically, Catherine Jones (1990) assumed that the objective of social policy is to regulate and manipulate people’s social conditions for governments. Jones noted that social policy as “the involvement of government in systematic attempts to regulate and manipulate social conditions and life chances for sections of a given population” (p. 3–4). When issue keeps on heating, given that, and back to Hong Kong, Wong (2012) concluded that social policies raised