Understanding social policy - Michael Hill

The first part offers a history of social policy in the United Kingdom and an exploration of the influences upon the making and implementation of social policy. Based on the view that those who study the subject need to consider the way in which policy is formed and implemented as well as to learn about the main policies and their limitations, this book shows that it is not just new initiatives in social policy which need attention. Constitutional changes, including in particular the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are occurring which will re–shape political and administrative institutions and in due course have a profound impact upon the social policy scene.

The second part examines specific areas of social policy. Here, amongst other developments, the Labour initiatives on welfare reform, the reshaping of the NHS to replace the internal market with health care commissioning and the new initiatives on education and training are all examined, setting them in the context of the Conservatives policies on which they build. These chapters, together with the concluding chapter on Social Policy, Politics and Society reflect the way in which the new world of social policy has been dramatically transformed by changes in politics and society in the last twenty years.