Through the analysis of specific policy areas in Scotland and a consideration of key social issues, this work examines devolved policy in a number of specific areas, and the changes wrought by the first decade and more of devolution in those areas. Each chapter considers specific aspects of social policy in Scotland, and the final chapter addresses whether the founding principles of Scottish devolution have transferred from principles to policy. The various ideas and themes all relate to the core ideas that underpinned devolution and the creation of the Scottish Parliament. While policy areas are directly addressed within most chapters, others consider class, equality, and the removal of the democratic deficit. This work judges whether these larger issues, as well as individual areas of social policy, have been better addressed within contemporary Scottish society since devolution took place.

With new devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this book provides a study of developments in the major areas of social policy and a full comparison between the four UK nations.

This text integrates the description & analysis of social policy in Scotland since devolution in 1999. It has been designed to support the delivery of social policy & related courses in Scotland itself but also to appeal to students on social policy, politics, sociology, and regional studies courses.

This thoroughly updated new edition provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary social policy, and addresses its historical, theoretical and contextual foundations. Divided into four sections, it opens with a survey of the socio-economic, political and governmental contexts within which social policy operates, before moving on to look at the historical development of the subject. The third section examines contemporary aspects of providing welfare, whilst the final part covers European and wider international developments. The text explores the major topics and areas in contemporary social policy, including: work and welfare education adult health and social care children and families crime and criminal justice health housing race disability Issues are addressed throughout in a lively and accessible style, and examples are richly illustrated to encourage the student to engage with theory and content, and to help highlight the relevance of social policy in our understanding of modern society. It is packed with features including, ‘Spotlight’ ‘Discussion and review’ and ‘Controversy and debate’ boxes, as well as further readings and recommended websites. A comprehensive glossary also provides explanations of key terms and abbreviations. Social Policy is an essential textbook for undergraduate students taking courses in social policy and related courses such as criminology, health studies, politics, sociology, nursing, youth and social work.

Social justice and social policy in Scotland offers a critical engagement with the state of social policy in one of the devolved nations of the UK, a decade after the introduction of devolution. Promoting greater social justice has been held up as a key vision of successive Scottish administrations since devolution began. It is argued throughout this important book that the analysis of Scottish social policy must therefore be located in wider debates around social injustice as well as about how the devolution process affects the making, implementation and impact of social policy. Social justice and social policy in Scotland focuses on a diverse range of topics and issues, including income inequalities, work and welfare, criminal justice, housing, education, health and poverty, each reflecting the themes of social inequality and social justice. This book will be essential reading for academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners as well as students of social policy and of society in Scotland and other devolved nations.

Despite the recent proliferation of literature on nationalism and on social policy, relatively little has been written to analyse the possible interaction between the two. Scholars interested in social citizenship have indirectly dealt with the interaction between national identity and social programs such as the British NHS, but they have seldom examined this connection in reference to nationalism. Specialists of nationalism rarely mention social policy, focusing instead on language, culture, ethnicity, and religion. The main objective of this book is to explore the nature of the connection between nationalism and social policy from a comparative and historical perspective. At the theoretical level, this analysis will shed new light on a more general issue: the relationships between identity formation, territorial politics, and social policy. Although this book refers to the experience of many different countries, the main cases are three multinational states, that is, states featuring strong nationalist movements: Canada (Québec), the United Kingdom (Scotland), and Belgium (Flanders). The book looks at the interplay between nationalism and social policy at both the state and sub-state levels through a detailed comparison between these three cases. In its concluding chapter, the book brings in cases of mono-national states (i.e. France, Germany, Sweden, and the United States) to provide broader comparative insight on the meshing of nationalism and social policy. The original theoretical framework for this research is built using insight from selected scholarship on nationalism and on the welfare state.

This fully updated and expanded edition of the bestselling Student’s Companion to Social Policy charts the latest developments, research, challenges, and controversies in the field in a concise, authoritative format. Provides students with the analytical base from which to investigate and evaluate key concepts, perspectives, policies, and outcomes at national and international levels Features a new section on devolution and social policy in the UK; enhanced discussion of international and comparative issues; and new coverage of ‘nudge’-based policies, austerity politics, sustainable welfare, working age conditionality, social movements, policy learning and transfer, and social policy in the BRIC countries Offers essential information for anyone studying social policy, from undergraduates on introductory courses to those pursuing postgraduate or professional programmes Accompanied by updated online resources to support independent learning and skill development with chapter overviews, study questions, guides to key sources and career opportunities, a key term glossary, and more Written by a team of experts working at the forefront of social policy

Social Policy Review 16 has been given a new editorial lease of life and has been re-organised to reflect more closely key developments in the UK and internationally.

How did the UK Coalition Government’s policies differ from previous Conservative (or Labour) Government policies? How did the Liberal Democrats influence them? And what can this tell us about the likely policy direction of the Conservative government elected in May 2015? Responding to the political and social policy changes made between 2010-15 this book considers the relationship between the two coalition parties to provide a critical assessment of how their policies affected the British welfare state, including the impact of ‘austerity’. Looking beyond 2015, the contributors consider what the implications of these changes may be for social policy, both the challenges and opportunities, which will present themselves in the future.

This book is the fourth volume of a major five-year research programme on devolution funded by the Leverhulme Trust. It provides a stock-take of the effect of devolution during the first term of the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales.