Search results for ‘Subject term:"social policy"’ Sort:
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Good times, bad times: the welfare myth of them and us
- Author:
- HILLS John
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 336
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Two-thirds of UK government spending now goes on the welfare state and where the money is spent – healthcare, education, pensions, benefits – is the centre of political and public debate. Much of that debate is dominated by the myth that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it – 'skivers' and 'strivers', 'them' and 'us'. This book, written by one of the UK’s leading social policy experts, uses extensive research and survey evidence to challenge that view. It shows that our complex and ever-changing lives mean that all of us rely on the welfare state throughout our lifetimes, not just a small ‘welfare-dependent’ minority. Using everyday life stories and engaging graphics, the author demonstrates how the facts are far removed from the myths. (Edited publisher abstract)
Towards a more equal society?: poverty, inequality and policy since 1997
- Editors:
- HILLS John, SEFTON Tom, STEWART Kitty, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 415p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
This book asks whether Britain has indeed moved in the direction of the more equal society declared to be the Labour Government's aim when it came to power in 1997. The 16 contributions are divided into three parts, considering dimensions of policy and outcomes, cross-cutting issues, and where we go next.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation inquiry into income and wealth: volume 2; a summary of the evidence
- Author:
- HILLS John
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 120p.,tables.
- Place of publication:
- York
Volume 2 of an inquiry into income and wealth in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 presents a picture of the current distribution of income in the UK. Chapter 2 looks at the positions of different population groups within that income distribution. The following chapters draw out the post-war trends in the overall income distribution and analyse the changes in the various components which have contributed towards those trends. Chapter 5 looks at the experience in other countries in relation to that of the UK and in relation to this the next chapter examines indices of income, deprivation and affluence by geographical areas within the UK. Chapter 7 highlights the distribution of wealth and recent trends in it.
The future of welfare: a guide to the debate
- Author:
- HILLS John
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 1993
- Pagination:
- 91p.,diags.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- York
Draws together research on the operation of the welfare state and discusses the range of policy options for its future.
Investigating welfare: final report of the Economic and Social Research Council welfare research programme
- Authors:
- HILLS John, et al
- Publisher:
- London School of Economics. Suntory-Toyota International Centre for Economics an
- Publication year:
- 1993
- Pagination:
- 56p.,diags.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Concluding report from a research project which looked at issues connected with the provision and use of welfare services.
Making social policy work
- Editors:
- HILLS John, LE GRAND Julian, PIACHAUD David, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 286p.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Social policy is now central to political debate in Britain. What has been achieved by efforts to improve services and reduce poverty? What is needed to deliver more effective and popular services to all and increase social justice? How can we make social policy work? These are some of the questions discussed in this collection of essays by a distinguished panel of leading social policy academics. The book covers key issues in contemporary social policy, particularly concentrating on recent changes. It examines the history and goals of social policy as well as its delivery, focusing in turn on the family and the state, schools, higher education, healthcare, social care, communities and housing. Redistribution is also examined, exploring child poverty, pension reform and resources for welfare. The essays in this collection have been specially written to honour the 70th birthday of Howard Glennerster whose pioneering work has been concerned not only with the theoretical, historical and political foundations of social policies but, crucially, with how they work in practice. It is a collection of importance for those working in and interested in policy and politics in a wide variety of fields and for students of social policy, public policy and the public sector.
Inequality and the state
- Author:
- HILLS John
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 294p.
- Place of publication:
- Oxford
This book is about inequality, how the state affects distribution through its spending programs and through taxation, and what the public thinks of these three issues. It describes and analyzes one of the biggest social changes in Britain since the Second World War: the dramatic widening of the income distribution since the end of the 1970s, the growth of poverty, and the factors that have driven them. And it examines how government social spending and the taxes that pay for it affect this distribution, and why they take the forms they do. Each part of the discussion is set in the context of public attitudes as revealed by the rigorous and long-running British Social Attitudes survey, and of Britain's position by comparison with other countries. Against this background, the book analyzes changes in policy since New Labour came to government in 1997, discusses the impacts of these changes, and looks at the constraints and pressures on future policies, before concluding with a discussion of the dilemmas facing policy-makers as they try to meet competing aims in reducing poverty and inequality, growing demands on social spending, and the constraints and opportunities created by public attitudes.
A more equal society?: New Labour, poverty, inequality and exclusion
- Editors:
- HILLS John, STEWART Kitty
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 391p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Although it has never declared a comprehensive 'war on poverty', the Labour Government that took office in 1997 has introduced an extensive set of measures designed to counter poverty in childhood and old age and to address individual and area-based social exclusion. This book brings together the expertise of a range of authors to provide an evaluation of Labour policy towards poverty and social exclusion between 1997 and 2004. It considers the challenges the government faced, examines the policies that were chosen and the targets set for them, and assesses results. It: includes chapters on employment, inequalities in education and health, income inequality and political participation; asks how children, older people, poor neighbourhoods, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups have fared under New Labour; seeks to assess the government both on its own terms - in meeting its own targets - and according to alternative views of social exclusion; and draws on the results of research carried out within the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) and on external evaluations.
Heading for retirement?: national insurance, state pensions, and the future of the contributory principle in the UK
- Author:
- HILLS John
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy, 33(3), July 2004, pp.347-371.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
This article discusses the implications of the decline of National Insurance in Britain, witnessed by its declining share of social security spending and steady dilution of the ‘contributory principle’ on which it was originally based. This decline is not accidental: under governments of the Left, arguments for inclusion have predominated, non-contributory benefits expanded and contribution conditions softened; under those of the Right, limited resources have been focused on the poorest through means-testing. From this starting point, the strong arguments in principle for social insurance look much weaker. However, there are also reasons why the system has not been swept away, notably the way in which most of it concerns already accrued state pension rights. The effect of current plans for state pensions is to restore something closer to a flat rate state pension, but with significant complexity. The article suggests a way in which a more transparent system could guarantee a total state pension at a fixed percentage of average earnings. Other National Insurance benefits could either be separated from pensions and absorbed within other working age social security, or the scope of National Insurance could be maintained, but based on a test of participation, not past contributions.
Shifting boundaries: social security and private insurance
- Authors:
- BURCHARDT Tania, HILLS John
- Journal article citation:
- Benefits, 20, September 1997, pp.7-10.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
Discusses the role of the private sector in covering risks once the preserve of 'social' security and asks whether it is right that the role of the private sector is increasing. Looks in particular at mortgage payment protection, permanent health insurance and long-term care.