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Baldock: Social Policy 3e

Complete list

www.official-documents.co.uk
British Government publications can be explored and accessed from here.

www.tso.co.uk
A great many of the publication of the Stationary Office are available here.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5748
Social Trends - perhaps the most useful data source of social policy students.

www.fabian-society.org.uk
The Fabian Society, a left of centre think tank

www.demos.co.uk
Demos, a public services focused think tank.

www.youngfoundation.org.uk
The Young Foundation, which ‘undertakes research to identify and understand unmet social needs and then develop practical initiatives and institutions to address them - in fields as diverse as health and education, housing and cities’.

www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
The Fawcett Society - a campaigning research organization focusing on equality between men and women in areas such as pay, pensions, social security and child support.

The websites of the UK political parties such as:
www.conservatives.com 
www.labour.org.uk
www.libdems.org.uk

www.direct.gov.uk
This site that allows you to search for and read a wide variety of government reports and publications on a diverse array of issues and topics, such as government strategies on the Internet, the National Lottery, and the arts.

www.statistics.gov.uk
Site of the Office for National Statistics. A rich source of official statistics and data, including online access to the latest social trends.

www.pcc.org.uk
Site of the Press Complaints Commission, offering details about their work and their full Code of Practice. It also offers some commentary about the virtues of self-regulation of the press.

www.natlotcomm.gov.uk/CLIENT/index.asp
Site of the National Lottery Commission, offering a variety of information and news about the National Lottery.

www.diversity-online.org
Site run by the International Media Working Group Against Racism and Xenophobia. It offers a rich source of media stories and articles on issues such as immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees. A good source of examples of questionable media and press coverage.

The websites of the Arts Councils of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales provide useful links to current debates about their roles and activities: www.artscouncil.org.uk
www.scottisharts.org.uk
www.artscouncil-ni.org
www.artswales.org.uk.

www.cpag.org.uk
A very useful site for examining child poverty in the UK, with access to various figures and reports.

www.poverty.org.uk
A site monitoring poverty and social exclusion in the UK and providing a wide range of figures and data.

www.number-10.gov.uk
The No 10 Downing Street website has a section devoted to The latest news on work, welfare, employment rights, skills, training, the New Deal, childcare, benefits, lifelong learning and pensions.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/resourcecentre/policy_strategy.asp
Reports and policy documents and the UK Department of Work and Pensions can be found here.

www.theworkfoundation.com
The Work Foundation publishes useful evidence-based reports on aspects of the quality of work lives and the benefits and loses of greater flexibility in the labour market.

www.arbetslivsinstitutet.se/en/
The Swedish National Institute for Working Life - An interesting source for more Scandinavian approaches to the labour market.

http://www.daycaretrust.org.uk/
For information about the National Childcare Strategy.

www.csa.gov.uk
An account of the work of the Child Support Agency.

www.nfpi.org.uk
The National Family and Parenting Institute.

www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk
The National Council for One Parent Families.

www.womensaid.org.uk/landing_page.asp?section=000100010005
Facts about domestic violence.

www.sosig.ac.uk
Follow the SOSIG Gateway via Home > Sociology > Culture and Identity to useful sources on identity and difference.

www.bristol.ac.uk/sociology/ethnicitycitizenship
The Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship. A number of universities have units and centres researching ethnicity and other dimensions of identity.

http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/
Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS).

www.youngfoundation.org.uk
The Young Foundation.

www.ercomer.org
European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations.

www.csec.bham.ac.uk
Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Culture.

www.art.man.ac.uk/CASAS/
Centre for Applied South Asian Studies.

www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-1
Centre for the Study of Democracy.

www.bma.org.uk
British Medical Association.

www.basw.co.uk
British Association of Social Workers.

www.gmc-uk.org
General Medical Council.

http://society.guardian.co.uk/
Society supplement of the Guardian (hard copy published on Wednesdays) - one of the best newspaper sites for current developments.

www.policyhub.gov.uk
Policy Hub provides themed access to government policy and management documents (although not always right up to date).

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
The Treasury website provides an essential starting place for exploring the most recent documents relevant to public expenditure management in the UK. Most important are the links to the Pre-budget, the Budget and the Spending Reviews and to the pages on public spending and services.

www.ifs.org.uk
The Institute of Fiscal Studies - alternative and critical assessments of the UK government’s economic policies can be found here.  It is helpful to read their most recent ‘Green Budget’ reviewing all the issues the Chancellor must consider. The site also includes many useful analyses of public expenditure and social policy questions and a particular strength are analyses of the impact of taxation on people with different incomes.

The European Commission homepage: http://europa.eu.int and its publications page: http://europa.eu.int/comm/publications are the gateways to many useful reports and statistics.

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spending_review/spend_plancontrol.cfm
For those who wish to understand the technical terms in more detail the Treasury’s ‘Public expenditure planning and control in the UK - a brief introduction’, to be found on its website, is an excellent start.

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CCS/
Centre for Civil Society: an academic site with links to the UK and developing societies.

www.cafonline.org
Charities Aid Foundation: particularly useful for data on charitable giving and financial aspects.

www.cdx.org.uk
Community Development Exchange - the policy and practice of work with community groups.

www.cdf.org.uk
Community Development Foundation - policy-related research and practice in relation to community development.

www.communityfirst.org.uk
Community First - a rural community council covering Wiltshire and Swindon.

http://redirect.homeoffice.gov.uk/activecommunities.html
Home Office Active Community unit - one of the main government departments sponsoring policy developments involving voluntary organisations and community groups.

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
National Council for Voluntary Organisations - the main co-ordinating agency for information and policy development within the English voluntary sector.

www.newsector.co.uk
New Sector - a magazine providing useful information on co-operatives and community control.

www.nicva.org
Northern Ireland Council of Voluntary Action: one of the UK equivalents of NCVO.

www.pdrdf.org
Peak District Rural Deprivation Forum - a rare example of a single issue rural voluntary organisation.

www.scvo.org.uk
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations: one of the UK equivalents of NCVO.

www.volunteeringengland.org
Volunteering England - research, information and policy development in relation to volunteering.

www.vssn.org.uk
Voluntary Sector Studies Network: the main academic association.

www.wcva.org.uk
Wales Council for Voluntary Action: one of the UK equivalents of NCVO.

www.dwp.gov.uk
Department for Work and Pensions.

www.ifs.org.uk
Institute for Fiscal Studies.

www.issa.int/engl/homef.htm
International Social Security Association.

www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk
Social Exclusion Unit.

http://journals.cambridge.org/spd/action/home
Social Policy Digest.

www.lsc.gov.uk/
The website of the Learning and Skills Council, which is responsible for funding and planning all education and training for over-16-year-olds in England except higher education. A good place to look for developments in work-based learning such as apprenticeships.

www.ofsted.gov.uk
The website for Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education), a non-ministerial government department which inspects and regulates standards in education and childcare. The site provides access to inspection reports undertaken by Ofsted.

www.qca.org.uk/
The website of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which works to develop the school curriculum and associated assessments and to accredit qualifications in schools, colleges, and at work. Good site for information on the qualifications framework and curriculum and assessment issues.

www.kingsfund.org.uk
The King’s Fund.

www.nhs.u
National Health Service.

www.ohe.org.uk
Office for Health Economics.

www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

www.who.int/whosis
World Health Organization (WHO).

These are the four main sites for health and social care policy in the UK. They are especially useful for information about up-to-date policy development and for downloading policy documents:

The Department of Health (England): http://www.dh.gov.uk/Home/fs/en
The Scottish Executive: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health
National Assembly of Wales: http://www.wales.gov.uk/index.htm
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/

http://www.bild.org.uk/
The British Institute of Learning Disabilities - BILD aims and objectives include the advancement of education and research relating to learning disabilities including people with profound and multiple disabilities.

http://www.ndt.org.uk/
National Development Team - an independent not-for-profit development agency that wants new opportunities and inclusion in ordinary life for all people with learning disabilities.

www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Mental Health Foundation - seeks to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems, through research, service development, training, policy recommendations and public awareness raising.

www.nimhe.org.uk
National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE)  - supports local communities to improve mental health and the quality of services for people affected by mental health problems.

www.world-schizophrenia.org
World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders - The only global organization dedicated to lightening the burden of schizophrenia and allied disorders for sufferers and their families.

http://www.carers.gov.uk/index.htm
Caring about Carers - A site established to meet the Government commitment to provide details of the services or benefits affecting carers on the Internet. Useful links to carers’ organisations.

http://www.disabilityalliance.org/
Disability Alliance - the leading authority on social security benefits for disabled people. The site provides regularly updated information about benefits, tax credits and community care as well as disability related campaigns and parliamentary news.

http://www.bcodp.org.uk/
British Council of Disabled People - the UK's national organisation of the worldwide Disabled People's Movement. It was set up in 1981 by disabled people to promote our full equality and participation in UK society.

http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/
Help the Aged - Working together with older people, Help the Aged campaigns, researches and develops practical solutions, to ensure that older people have enough money to live on; feel more involved and less isolated or alone; get equality and rights in all areas of their lives; and receive high-quality care, when and where they need it.

http://www.jrf.org.uk
Joseph Rowntree Foundation - one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK, spending about £7 million a year on a research and development programme that seeks to better understand the causes of social difficulties and explore ways of overcoming them.

http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/
The Nuffield Foundation - the Foundation funds a programme of research and development on older people. It funds work that starts from the perspectives, needs and interests of the older person and his or her family, rather than those of service providers. It is interested in projects that will enhance individual autonomy and choice and that recognise variation in preferences and provision.

http://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/
Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE online) - At Social Care Online you can access a wide range of information and research on all aspects of social care. New content is added daily and is drawn from a range of resources including journal articles, websites, research reviews, legislation and government documents, and service user knowledge. It has a useful list of links to many other social care sites.

www.dfes.gov.uk
For information on recent and current government policy on care and protection of children. One particularly useful source to be found is the annual Children Act Report that reviews progress within the government’s child social care agenda.

www.csci.org.uk/
Provides information on the workings of the Commission for Social Care inspection, including information on standards relating to the care and protection of children and its inspection reports. CSCI has a Children’s Rights Director whose functions including carrying out research on services for children.

www.scie.org.uk/
Information from the Social Care Institute for Excellence, including practice guidance, reports and knowledge reviews.

The major children’s charity websites carry a range of useful information, including news, campaigns and resources for children and families as well as research reports. The most important are as follows:
www.nch.org.uk/
www.the-childrens-society.org.uk/
www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/home.htm
www.barnardos.org.uk/

www.vcc-uk.org/ngen_public/default.asp, www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/
A Voice for the Child in Care and the Who Cares Trust - both campaign to improve the lives of children in care. The websites contain information on services, campaigns, guidance and research.

For information on research, policy analysis and practice guidance for all ‘stakeholders’ in adoption and fostering go to: www.baaf.org.uk, www.thefostering.net/

www.frg.org.uk/index.asp
The Family Rights Group (FRG) represents families dealing with social care agencies. Information on its work, including guidance to families and professionals and research can be found here.

www.odpm.gov.uk/housing/statistics/
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - includes scores of continuously updated tables of housing statistics, including data on historical trends. 

www.homelessnessact.org.uk/
Shelter maintains a useful website on homelessness.

http://www.criminal-justice-system.gov.uk
Criminal Justice System.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Home Office.

http://www.police.uk
Police Service.

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk
Prison Service.

www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk
National Offender Management Service (NOMS).

www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk
National Probation Service.

http://www.victimsupport.com
Victim Support.

http://www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk
Youth Justice Board.

www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21text.htm
Agenda 21 United Nations 1992

 www.defra.gov.uk/
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).Apart from the DEFRA site there is also a separate sustainable development site maintained by the government:  http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/

www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/eahome.htm
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee.

www.sd-commission.org.uk/
Sustainable Development Commission - The official  watchdog established to monitor government progress on sustainable development.  An excellent source of authoritative reports on relevant topics.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment
For information on the work on sustainable development of the Scottish Executive.

Sustainable Development is a legal requirement for the Welsh Assembly See: www.wales.gov.uk/themessustainabledev/index.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/environment/index_en.htm
At the European Union level then the Environment Directorate General is the key body.

http://org.eea.eu.int/
The European Environment Agency has an important monitoring role.

www.neweconomics.org/gen/
The New Economics Foundation - includes research programmes on wellbeing and local economics which are worth consulting.

www.foe.co.uk
Friends of the Earth - worth visiting to get a critical perspective on environmental policy. 

www.greenpeace.org.uk
Greenpeace site

http://www.letslinkuk.net/index.htm
Local Exchange Trading Scheme

http://www.timebanks.co.uk/
Time Banks

www.worldbank.org
The World Bank - contains a great deal of information on sustainable development.

http://www.espanet.org
ESPAnet (the European Social Policy Analysis network) - provides good links to relevant national social policy associations and organisations and national research centres within Europe.

http://europa.eu.int/
The EU webportal - For EU social policy involvement and documentation the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities is a good starting point.

http://epp.eurostat.cec.eu.int
EUROSTAT - a good starting point for social policy data on EU member states.

http://www.ilo.org
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) - provides information and data on social policy.

http://www.globalwelfare.net
Provides a range of learning and teaching resources for students, educators and researchers, including extensive links to a wide range of research and activist organisations and groups’ websites that contain further information on the various issues discussed in this chapter. It also provides a direct link to the e-Library for Global Welfare  and ESDS International (the UK ESRC/JISC funded Economic and Social Data Service) which makes available in an accessible format a range of international datasets.

http://www.elibraryforglobalwelfare.org
A searchable database of research and policy documents and statistical indicators relating to human welfare around the world. The database allows simple and advanced searches according to a range and combinations of criteria including type of resources, geographical areas of interest, policy areas and institution.

http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/publications/
The website of the London School of Economics Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE).  A key source of excellent research on the outcomes of social policies, look particularly at the ‘CASEpapers’, to which new reports are regularly added.

http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/
Welfare policy outcomes are regularly reported in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s ‘Findings’ series of short reports from the research projects it has funded.