Welfare & benefit systems

Important reforms are taking place in children's services in the UK, with a move towards greater integration. In England, Scotland and Sweden, early childhood education and care, childcare for older children, and schools are now the responsibility of education departments. This book is the first to examine this major shift in policy.

Opening the ‘black box’ of childcare markets to closer scrutiny, this book brings to light the complex political, social and economic dynamics behind childcare provisioning.

One of the few resources available to provide an overview of human need as a key concept in the social sciences, this accessible and engaging second edition models existing practical and theoretical approaches to human need while also proposing a radical alternative.

Social inclusion and participation have become policy mantras in the UK and Europe. As these concepts are being translated into policies and practice, it is a critical time to examine their interpretation, implementation and impacts. This book asks how far and in what way social inclusion policies are meeting the needs of children and young people.

This edited collection brings together international academics, policy makers and practitioners to examine the social and cultural contexts of breastfeeding and looks at how policy and practice can apply this to women’s experiences.

Social Policy First Hand is the first comprehensive international social policy text from a participatory perspective and presents a new service user-led social policy that addresses the current challenges in welfare provision.

This book focuses on the drive towards increasingly integrated ways of working in children’s services across the UK. The new edition of this bestselling textbook critically examines the potential and reality of closer ‘working together’, asking whether such new ways of working will be able to respond more effectively to the needs of children.

This classic text provides the first comprehensive examination of the social policy of New Labour. It compares and contrasts current policy areas with both the Old Left and the New Right and applies the concept of the 'third way' to both individual policy areas and broader cross-cutting themes.

Britain's New Labour government claims to support the cause of human rights. At the same time, it claims that we can have no rights without responsibility and that dependency on the state is irresponsible. The ethics of welfare offers a critique of this paradox and discusses the ethical conundrum it implies for the future of social welfare.

This book analyses the current context and use of ICT in the public and voluntary sectors, building on this to provide practical guidance for managers and staff. Assuming no technical knowledge, the book provides ideas, tools and resources to think critically and creatively about current ICT practice and to implement positive change at all levels.

This unique book is the first to critique the past, present and future welfare state from a participatory perspective. Peter Beresford demonstrate the value of ‘user knowledge’ by challenging orthodox social policy and the limitations of both Fabian and Neo-liberal perspectives drawing on service users ‘ own ideas and experience.

Following 5 years of systemic research exploring the efficacy and impact of Sure Start Local Programmes, this book pulls together, in a single volume, the results of the extensive National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS).