social policy Archives - Social Policy Association

Sex workers want rights, not rescue. Dr Kate Brown explains why and how.

No 41: Rights not rescue – What social policy can learn from sex workers

December 13, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Kate Brown During National Anti-trafficking Week in October 2016, the UK’s anti-trafficking commissioner reported that “more victims [are] being identified, referred for appropriate support and restored of their freedom”. In the same week, an […]

Delivery drivers are amongst those harmed by Universal Credit's failure to adequately support the self-employed.

No 40: How the social protection system can fail the self-employed

December 10, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Kevin Caraher and Enrico Reuter Rachel Mantell, a self-employed management consult, earns more than £100,000 per year, can afford to spend £6,000 on holidays, and is sharing her good fortune by hosting refugees in […]

Child poverty has increased under austerity while support services and welfare have been cut.

No 39: Austerity adversely targets children in need

December 3, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

By Harriet Churchill In October Prime Minister Teresa May spoke again about her desire to tackle burning injustices and her belief in the good government can do. She pledged austerity is over. Yet despite evidence […]

Scotland's Social Security bill holds important lessons for Westminster.

No 38: What we can learn from Scotland’s approach to social security

October 15, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Ruth Patrick Too often, we are told that welfare traps people in dependency, discouraging individuals from making the right choices, and enabling a culture of irresponsibility and inactivity. This lazy, stigmatising narrative has been […]

What will social policy in the UK look like in 50 years? Rod Hick offers five suggestions.

No 37: Social Policy’s next 50 years

October 9, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

By Rod Hick The Social Policy Association’s (SPA’s) 50th anniversary blog series has demonstrated the rich variety of topics examined by social policy scholars. While some have examined contemporary policy issues, others have looked back […]

Authentic assessment is an important way in which students can develop both academic and real-world skills.

No 32: Authentic assessment: why real world skills matter in the social policy classroom

June 4, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Lee Gregory In his lecture “The university and Welfare Objectives”, Titmuss highlights two concerns for Social Policy within Higher Education: to provide training for the technical and social service needs of society and to […]

Populist, right-wing nationalism is on the rise across Europe. What should the social policy community be doing about it?

No 31: Radical right populism: is it about inequality or ethnic nationalism?

May 29, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Markus Ketola The recent successes of populist parties in countries such as Germany, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Finland — to name but a few prominent European examples — have spurned a lively […]

While Britons fight for better social policies, social policy academics are losing their radical edge.

No 16: A ‘radical’ crisis for the subject of social policy?

February 5, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Robert M Page At first glance, the subject of social policy appears to be in good health. Beneath the surface, however, there are signs that the subject’s critical edge is being eroded. The contemporary […]

British parliament is where the fruits of academic social policy should be found.

No 13: Beneficent expert or turbulent priest? The ambiguous role of the Social Policy academic

January 15, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Hartley Dean The role of the Social Policy academic has in several respects always been ambiguous. The object of her scholarship may variously be regarded as a discrete discipline or as a multi- or […]

An elderly couple symbolise the process of ageing.

No 12: The neglect of ageing

January 8, 2018 S-P-A-Administrator 0

by Alan Walker Social policy has neglected ageing and, as a result, it has vacated what should have been a leading role in responding to one of the biggest challenges facing the world. This neglect […]