Chapter 15

Introduction to Social Policy

http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/socialpolicy.htm

This site has been created by Paul Spicker, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Dundee. It is extremely well written, accessible to students, and full of detailed information about what social welfare is and how it works. A highly valuable resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about social policy and wants to understand more about the ideas and issues involved in it.

Sure Start

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/

This website tell you about the Sure Start Programme, a governmental initiative aimed at reducing child poverty and social exclusion. The programme targets local communities in which children are living in low income families and are seen to be socially disadvantaged. You might want to think about this in relation to New Labour’s notion of positive welfare.

Social Exclusion Unit

http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/

This organization was set up by the Prime Minister to tackle problems of ‘social exclusion’, including poor housing, child poverty, lack of transport and poor health. On this website you can find some useful facts and figures about these issues as well as learn about the government’s policy recommendations. How does the state provide for the welfare of the socially excluded?

Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies

http://www.ceps.lu/

Based in Luxembourg, this thriving research centre carries out cross-cultural, comparative studies of various aspects of social welfare. From the table of contents and list of current projects, you can find out about the centre’s work on income, employment, household composition and vocational training.

Government Papers

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/009/2000009.htm

This is an example of a parliamentary bill about social welfare – in this case, it refers to child support, pensions and social security. It is helpful to look at sources like this to understand how policy documents are written and the definitions that the government gives for central concepts and ‘buzz words’. You can find many other examples of policy documents from the home page of the stationery office.

The Third Way

http://www.netnexus.org/library/papers/3way.html

This website provides a helpful summary of the political context and debates surrounding the ‘third way’. It has been compiled by David Halpern and David Mikosz to summarise an online discussion. The paper gives a detailed account of the policies involved in the Third Way and their practical implications, as well as critically reviewing the political and moral principles underpinning the approach.

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Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 15.

Chapter 15