Social Policy for Social Work, Social Care and the Caring Professions : Scottish Perspectives. Edited By : Steve Hothersall & Janie Bolger.

Social Policy for Social Work, Social Care and the Caring Professions
Scottish Perspectives
Since devolution in 1999, social policy within Scotland has burgeoned. The Scottish Parliament has a range of powers in relation to key policy areas including social work, education, health, child care, child protection, law and home affairs, and housing. These powers and the existence of a distinct legal tradition in Scotland means that social work practice has developed a distinctive style, attuned to the particular needs of Scotland. Scottish distinctiveness however, has rarely been properly represented in textbooks on either social policy or social work. This innovative text offers comprehensive coverage of the discipline of social policy and its central relevance to social work, social care and related practice in Scotland. Designed to complement teaching and study associated with the new Honours degree in Social Work (Scottish Executive 2003), it fills a notable gap in the literature on this subject and will be essential reading for students, professionals and academics within a variety of health and social care occupations.

Introduction
References
Part I Context
1 What is social policy?
Introduction
What is social policy?
Policy and the law
Law and policy in a devolved Scotland
The wider picture
Legislation and policy in Scotland after devolution
The structure and functions of the Scottish Parliament
The political and policy-making process in Scotland
The law and policy in action
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
Web-based resources
2 A history of social policy
Introduction
The Poor Laws
The (Scots) Poor Law Act 1579 (An Act of the Scottish Parliament ‘For Punischment of Strang and Idle Beggars')
The 43rd of Elizabeth (The Poor Law Act 1601)
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845
Victorian society and industrialisation
The role of charitable organisations and the emergence of social work
The (re-)discovery of poverty
The liberal reforms 1905–14
The ‘Minority Report' of the Royal Commission 1909
The emergence of the welfare state (1914–48)
The Beveridge Report (1942)
Welfare consensus 1951–79
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
Web-based resources
3 Ideology: How ideas influence policy and welfare
Introduction
Welfare regimes: Three worlds of welfare?
Ideology: What it is and what it does
Classifying ideology
Political ideologies
Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
Nationalism
Fascism
Anarchism
Feminism
Environmentalism/ecologism
Religious fundamentalism
The end of ideology, the end of history or the beginning of something else?
How many ways to welfare: From a welfare state to a welfare society?
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
4 People, policy and practice
Introduction
People and policy
Conceptualising people and what they need
Theories and conceptions of need
A hierarchy of human needs
A taxonomy of social need
A theory of universal human need
Integrating need and policy
Towards a theory of socially relevant policy
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
Part II Themes and issues
5 Poverty and social exclusion
Introduction
Poverty
The situation in Scotland
The contribution of politics
Vulnerable groups and demographic issue
The relationship between benefits and poverty
The relationship between taxation and poverty
Social exclusion
Background and definition
The nature of social exclusion
Differences between poverty and social exclusion
Usefulness and limitations of the social exclusion approach
The fight against poverty and social exclusion
Increased participation in the labour market
Tackling poverty at both a national and a local level
Tackling social exclusion
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
6 Risk, support and protection
Introduction
The risk of failing to manage risk successfully
The dangers in the growth of awareness of risk
The benefits of the growth in awareness of risk
Balancing benefit and detriment in the analysis of risk policy
Risk assessment and management practice and policy in Scotland
Risk assessment, management structures and risk assessment tools
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
7 Changing patterns of care
Introduction
Caring in its historical context
The development and growth of community-based care
Some assumptions and realities of community-based care
Unpaid care: The position of carers
Young carers
Ongoing themes and issues within policy
Changing demographics
Funding
Personal care
Delayed discharges
Home (domiciliary) care
Nursing and residential care services
Health care
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
Web-based resources
8 Welfare rights
Introduction
A history of the welfare rights and benefits system
The benefit and tax credit system
The Taylor/Bradford family
Edna
Mary
Jennifer
The welfare rights agenda
Increased levels of means-testing
The anti-fraud drive
Benefit fraud
Welfare to work agenda
Abolishing pensioner and child poverty
Migration
Poverty, inequality and the benefits system
Increasing numbers of older people
Health inequalities
Housing
The social work role in relation to benefits
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
9 Social policy perspectives on empowerment
Introduction
What is empowerment?
Strands of empowerment
Exit
Voice
Rights
Advocacy
Social inclusion-based policies
Human rights-based policies
Supported self-care
What exactly is meant by personalisation?
How has personalisation been expressed in public policy?
What might be some examples of personalised approaches?
What might be the challenges involved with the embedding of personalisation in social care provision?
Chapter summary and conclusion
References
Further reading
Part III Policy for practice
10 Health and health inequalities
Introduction
Health, health care and health care policy
Health care provision in the UK
The National Health Service
The National Health Service in Scotland
Health inequalities in the United Kingdom
Explanations for socio-economic inequalities in health
The artefact explanation
The ‘health selection' hypothesis
The role of health services
Health-related behaviours (cultural/behavioural explanation)
The psychosocial explanation
Materialist explanations
The life course perspective
Policy developments and strategies
Conclusions and implications for social work and social care
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
11 Mental health
Introduction
Mental health and mental illness
Historical perspective
Current policy that addresses mental illness
Suicide and Scottish policy
Recovery-focused mental health services
What is personal recovery?
The Scottish policy context for recovery
What is the Scottish Recovery Network and what does it do?
Conclusion
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
12 Older people
Introduction: Definition of terms
Poverty and pensions in old age
Older people and perceptions of coping
Older women and poverty
Retirement
Demographics of old age
‘Make do and mend'
A short history of social policy for older people: Social policy and old age in context
State pensions
Community care
Housing
Future policy and impact on older people
Family dynamics and kinship care
Intimacy and the potential for isolation
Family structures
Domiciliary support and personalisation of care
Personal care and what this means
Who cares and who pays?
Care settings
Process of admission to care settings
Resilience in older age
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
13 Disability: A question of perception
Introduction: Impairment, disability and its social construction
Terminology, language and oppression
Prevalence of the medical model
Stigma and discrimination
Historical context: Children of a lesser God
Early history
Spawn of the devil or blessed innocent?
Enlightenment and superstition
Into the modern era
Condemned to poverty
The rise of institutional care
The appliance of science
Eugenics
We can rebuild you!
Embedding structural oppression
Safety net or universal entitlement?
Towards the welfare state
The welfare state
Economic rationality
Voices of dissent
Fighting back
DIG
Radical activism
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Brave new world or false dawn?
Community care
What is normal?
Living in the community
Joined up working
A joint future?
Same as you?
Back to work
The act of caring
Interdependence
Getting it wrong
In control?
Nothing about us without us
Ghosts of the past
The next steps?
Current legislation and policy
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
14 Children and their families
Introduction
The socio-historical context of law and policy for children and families
Child abuse and neglect as a social issue
Juvenile delinquency
Issues and debates
Challenges in and for practice
The contemporary socio-political context
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
Web-based resources
15 Education and training in Scotland
Introduction
Post Second World War
Training
Disadvantage and disaffection
Class
Gender
Ethnicity
Impairment/disability
Conclusion
Chapter summary
References
Further reading
16 Substance use and social policy in Scotland: The struggle to make sense of things
Introduction
The shaping elements
The nature of the beast and how we try to tame it
The historical perspective
1975 to 1989: Hopes for a relaxed drinking culture and fears of a plague
1989 to 1993: Social work comes in from the cold
1994 to 2009: An age of strategic plans; an era of controversies
Drug strategies: Crime on the one hand, treatment on the other
Alcohol strategies: Too much of a good thing
Children and the damage done
Smoking: A success story?
The impact of social policy: A case study
Brian
Karen
Leanne
Jason
Darren
Chapter summary: Control conundrums
References
17 Social policy in the criminal justice system
Introduction
The development and growth of social work within criminal justice services
Sentencing perspectives within criminal justice
Supervision following custodial sentences
Victims of crime within the policy context
Formation of the Scottish Parliament
Human rights
The move toward a single corrections agency
Risk Management Authority
Domestic violence
Women offenders
Sex offenders
Short sentence licence
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)
Rising prison populations
Measures to reduce the prison population
Home detention curfews
Open prisons
Youth justice
Twenty-first century services?
Chapter summary
References
Legislation
Web-based resources
18 Asylum and immigration
Introduction
Some definitions and interpretations
Asylum seeker
Economic migrant
Immigrant
Refugee
Humanitarian protection
Indefinite leave to remain
Discretionary leave
Illegal immigrant
A history of British immigration controls
Control through legislation
The current picture
A uniquely Scottish perspective
What does this mean in practice?: What is the actual process of seeking asylum in the UK?
The use of detention or removal centres
Dispersal
Rights and responsibilities
Children
Facts and figures: Myths and reality
So what are the numbers of people applying for asylum in the UK each year?
How many asylum seekers are actually granted settlement in the UK?
How does Britain compare with the rest of Europe in terms of numbers of asylum seekers?
What are the main nationalities of those seeking asylum in the UK?
Do asylum seekers receive enhanced financial benefits and jump the housing queue?
What skills and qualifications do asylum seekers in Scotland have?
What does all of this mean for social work and other professions?
Chapter summary
References
Web-based resource
19 Housing and homelessness
Introduction
Housing policy: Concept and relevance
Tenure structure in the UK
Housing needs and homelessness
Contributing factors to homelessness
Structural/societal factors
Personal risk factors
Triggering factors
Effects of homelessness
Policy developments and strategies
Implications for social work
Chapter summary
References
20 Conclusions: Onwards and upwards?
References
Index