Contemporary Issues in Social Policy
By Nazia Howell
October 2017
Social policy refers to the policies used by government for welfare and social protection (Spicker, P.) that are usually made by central Government and implemented by local authorities to tackle current social issues such as poverty and racism. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have now devolved and have their own laws and legislations on several issues.
This essay will explore three contemporary issues in relation to social policy, whilst supporting these issues with legislation and economic context for each issue.
The three issues that will be explored are: Welfare, Health and Pensions. Defining social policy, and understanding social policy becomes imperative, to enable understanding of the contemporary issues within it.
Social policy was introduced in the early 19th Century, post war. At this time, William Beveridge introduced the idea of a Welfare State to address poverty. He released a report for social reform known as the ‘five giants’ within society: squalor, disease, ignorance, idleness and want. The welfare state brought many positive improvements in Britain and Government passed reforms to address the poverty levels, introducing “cradle to grave “support. The National Health Service was set up which gave free health care to all and laws and Acts were put in place to help the young, the old, the sick the unemployed and the working class in times of need. The five issues raised by Beveridge
Social policies are defined as actions taken by governing bodies such as schools or welfare systems that create action in society and cause implications for its members, they’re
This essay will examine how the development of the Welfare State and the NHS changed the lives of the people of Britain since its introduction in 1948. To enable me to do so, I will analyse and evaluate the key relevant aspects that happened during that period.
This assignment will be describing the structures of health and social care within the British Welfare state. This includes looking at the roles of different sectors, agencies, professions and the distinction between health and social care. It will then analyse the relationships between both health and social care and its wider historical, ideological and social context. Lastly, it will compare structures and contexts of health and social care within two nations of the United Kingdom.
Social policies have impacted my life before I was even aware of the term social policy. Today, social policy impacts my personal life and my professional life daily. I am impacted personally by many social policies that pertain particularly to higher education and women’s rights. Social policies that increase assess for adult learners and reduce financial barriers for higher education has allowed me to return to higher education. I am an adult student who has children and works full time so attending classes in a traditional setting is not an option for me. With higher education being more accessible and offered on-line I am able to attend higher education working towards a degree. Financial policies regarding higher education have provided
This essay will examine how the development of the Welfare State and the NHS changed the lives of the people of Britain since its introduction in 1948. To enable me to do so, I will analyse and evaluate the key relevant aspects that happened during that period.
The Welfare State has its own benefits and drawbacks. Even though social welfare has its own issues and weaknesses, it can be considered as one of the most important things in our
Britain’s provision of welfare underwent a massive overhaul in the middle of the second World War .William Beveridge played a key role in these changes by writing a report which revised the social security system. It was determined by Beveridge that certain policies were required to combat the evils of society. They were referred to as “The Five Giants”.
To gain a better understanding of Social Policy we need to look at its definition:
Social policies the fundamental principles in which a society is based. Created to tackle poverty, protect society addressing issues such as social welfare, justice and individual wellbeing. By 1834 the government were under fierce criticism due to rising and mounting costs of looking after the poor, it became clear a change was needed to fix problems in society. The government brought in an amendment act titled the Poor Law (1834) which was designed to reduce the cost of looking after the poor, passed by parliament this new law meant anyone seeking relief from poverty had to now enter a workhouse (BBC-Bitesize, 2017). In the early 1800's the population was rapidly rising, an industrial revolution, the development of towns and the first experience of modern unemployment caused problems within British society (Spicker, 2017). There was suspicion from middle and upper-class taxpayers that their money encouraged the poor to be lazy and avoid work, Squandering money on alcohol and tobacco. In addition, this encouraged the poor to have more children in which they could not afford to support causing resentment and dividing society (Murray, 2013).
In the field of social work, social workers work with a range of people from individuals, families, communities, and organizations. Social workers may face ethical issues in their work with their clients or working in policy practice for example. This paper will discuss social work ethics that relate to policy practice with using an example of an ethical standard of cultural competency and social diversity that is relative to a policy such as health care while discussing what ethical responsibilities a policy analyst are. In the field of social work, social workers work with various issues that can impact a range from individuals to families, to communities and organizations.
In this essay is about the relationship between the social policy and social problem, but before going into a deep understanding of the two related parts that involve in a society, let is defined each one of them and know what they are and how they connect. When it comes defining the social policy or social problem; there is no one solid definition for them as it has many definitions because of their widely involvement in the society. In Bessant Theories, Mark Considine (1994;2) , fairly recommended that policy is cleverly easy caption that is able to cover parts of actual complicated actions.
The aim of this essay is to discuss and compare the British Welfare system with Germany and Sweden’s welfare systems. A welfare system is the structure of welfare provisions and services that provide a specific social need, but it is not only provided or organised solely by the government (Blakemore, 2001). It is a view that is rooted in individual exchanges between five organisations (State/Government, Market/Private Sector, Family/Kin networks, Local Communities and Civil Society). It reflects the history and cultures of different countries around the world (Haralambos, 2012). It is these providers that assume principal
This essay will consider whether the welfare state has eliminated poverty. It will examine what poverty is and how the definition varies from societies. The essay will look at the aims of the welfare state from conception and how it has changed to present times. The welfare state being analysed is the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It will discuss the nature of the social democratic welfare state and liberal criticisms of the problems this type of state brings. The recent changes to the welfare state will be reviewed and what the consequences of the changes may be. It will then look at recent statistics to determine whether the welfare state has eradicated poverty.
What I learned from the article “An Introduction to Policy Analysis” is that many of the “new” social welfare systems that we see today were already in debate long ago. When we watch the news or/and what we see in our social media, you get to see all the debates that are occurring within politicians about whether to apply a certain policy in the United States. Little did I know that many of these policies were already being discussed long ago. According to “An Introduction to Policy Analysis”, some of these policies were already implemented in Western European countries, but the United States wouldn’t apply it to their country. According to “An Introduction to Policy Analysis”, some reasons can be because of how short a window of opportunity
Most policies instituted at the national level give consideration to political, financial, legal and human needs factors. As a result, after new social policies are initiated problems with their implementation often arise in social agencies. Typical obstacles to successful implementation include: unclear communication, negative attitudes toward the policy on the part of agency staff, Lack of resources to carry out the policy on the part of agency staff, lack of resources to carry out the policy and existing organizational procedures that prevent the new policy from being implemented