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Disability and the welfare state in Britain: changes in perception and policy 1948–79
- Author:
- HAMPTON Jameel
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 288
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
This book focuses on the creation of the British welfare state, looking at how, in its original form, it excluded millions of disabled people and examining the attempts in the subsequent three decades since its inception to reverse this exclusion. The book contextualises disability historically in the welfare state and under each government of the period. It looks at how disability policy and perceptions were slow to change as a welfare issue. It also provides an analysis of the Disablement Income Group, one of the most powerful pressure groups in the period and the 1972 Thalidomide campaign and its effect on the Heath government. Given the recent emergence of the history of disability in Britain as a major area of research, the book may prove useful to academics, students and activists seeking a better understanding of the topic. (Edited publisher abstract)
Parity of participation in liberal welfare states: human rights, neoliberalism, disability and employment
- Authors:
- HARRIS Sarah Parker, OWEN Randall, GOULD Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 27(6), 2012, pp.823-836.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
People with disabilities in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom experience high unemployment rates. In a recent OECD high-level policy forum on Sickness, Disability and Work, the main policy message was the need for a culture of inclusion; with a dual focus on short-term active policy interventions and long-term structural reform. However, disability rights are hard to put into action because national disability policy focuses on neoliberalism. This paper examines the policies in liberal welfare states that encourage people receiving disability benefits to participate in the labour market. The first part of the article introduces human rights discourse, and applies it to workfare reforms in OECD countries, specifically liberal welfare states, in the context of neoliberal policy. It then provides 3 national examples, from the US, the UK and Australia, of active labour market policy interventions for transitioning people with disabilities from welfare to work. The policy examples are analysed in the context of human rights and neoliberalism. The paper explores to what extent new approaches to activation policies are facilitating parity of participation for people with disabilities and factors that prevent these policies from being more effective.
A fair budget: a discussion paper exploring the role of the RAS in the development of self-directed support
- Authors:
- DUFFY Simon, ETHERINGTON Keith
- Publisher:
- Centre for Welfare Reform
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 23p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This discussion paper describes a way forward for developing Resource Allocation Systems (RAS) in Scotland as an essential component of a sustainable system of self-directed support. It argues that, rather than fixate on one model or system, it is better to begin a period of genuine innovation and exploration in partnership with disabled people and families. The report suggests that the English experience of providing personal budgets provides some important Lessons for Scotland, but that there is also a danger of creating an unduly bureaucratic system that does not trust disabled people or professionals. The report offers seven principles to describe how an effective RAS should work, and an empirical process to measure the success of emerging models.
Annotated review of European Union law and policy with reference to disability
- Author:
- ARSENJEVA Janina
- Publisher:
- Academic Network of European Disability Experts
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 183p.
- Place of publication:
- Leeds
The Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED) was established to provide a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating EU laws and policies that affect disabled people. This annotated overview of EU legislation and policy instruments both updates and extends a provisional mapping of legislative instruments first conducted for ANED in 2008. The review covers both disability-specific and mainstream instruments. It provides evidence of the extent to which disability is being mainstreamed in different areas of EU law and policy. The summaries and examples presented here relate to primary and secondary EU legislation, as well as soft-law instruments that are currently in force.
Defining the issues: the intersection of domestic abuse and disability
- Author:
- NIXON Jennifer
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 8(4), October 2009, pp.475-485.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study on the politicisation of domestic violence as it relates to the experiences of disabled survivors and argues that definitions of domestic violence are currently being debated within the disability and domestic violence spheres. Data are drawn from interviews with participants who have been active in politicising this issue and are affiliated to either the disabled people's movement or the movement against domestic violence in England and North Carolina. Although this issue is becoming increasingly politicised, this paper argues that the process is currently marked by widespread discrepancies in defining domestic violence experienced by disabled people. The author points out that there is likely to be little agreement on the definition of domestic violence among the various agencies involved, whether it includes violence in institutional contexts, ’family violence’ where the abuser is a family member and where the recipient of abuse is a man.
Strategies of austerity used in needs assessments for personal assistance – changing Swedish social policy for persons with disabilities
- Authors:
- BERGGREN Ulrika Jarkestig, EMILSSON Ulla Melin, BERGMAN Ann-Sofie
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 24(3), 2021, pp.380-392.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The austerity measures in social welfare implemented by street-level bureaucrats in their practice are changing the direction of social policy. This article examines the strategies used by public officials in implementing austerity measures in needs assessment for personal assistance in Sweden. The article is based on a document study with N = 100 records of needs assessment for personal assistance for persons with serious functional disabilities. Findings show that the public officials at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency either limit or extend their discretion as a strategy, as well as use weak warrants as strong warrants in recommending decisions. Other strategies involve the organisational logic, fragmentation of the content in the needs assessment and division of work among the public officials. Implementing the cost-cutting goals causes severe consequences for persons with disabilities who bear the brunt by being excluded from participation in society. The social policy values of fifty years, emphasising the right to equal participation in society, are traded for economic austerity goals. (Edited publisher abstract)
Personalisation, individualism and the politics of disablement
- Author:
- DODD Steven
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 28(2), 2013, pp.260-273.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper assesses the social policy narrative personalisation, and particularly the implications of the narrative for disability politics. The advantages and disadvantages of positioning specific funding mechanisms within the narrative are explored. It is argued that personalisation is insufficiently aligned with collective aspects of empowerment. More particularly, it disproportionately emphasises improvements in individual autonomy through personalised support, and lacks reference to structural oppression or the need for collective forms of action that bring about structural change. It is further argued that personalisation lack a multi-faceted analysis of disability and disempowerment, and as a result also lacks any vision of a positive alternative society. In assessing personalisation, the positive and negative dimensions of disabled people’s freedom are considered. As a response to the apparent shortcomings of personalisation, the integrated living approach and Centres for Independent Living are considered important elements in an alternative narrative to personalisation. (Publisher abstract)
Making rights a reality for disabled people: a discussion paper from the Shadow Work and Pensions Team
- Author:
- LABOUR PARTY
- Publisher:
- Labour Party
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 14p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This discussion paper, from the UK’s Shadow Work and Pensions Team, is designed “to generate debate about the priorities for disabled people here and now, and in the next Parliament”. It suggests that the “government is forcing disabled people to pay for its economic mistakes” and that “As a consequence of government decisions, disabled people are carrying a heavier load than bankers in bringing down this debt. In the final year of this Parliament, cuts to disability benefits will be 40 per cent more than the amount taken off banks.” The paper criticises the performance of the Work Programme, and the government’s handling of the Remploy factory closures, before going onto raise concerns about DLA reform, ESA/WCA, time-limiting of ESA(cont), social care, the bedroom tax and the lack of disability payments under universal credit, and more. Finally, there are various questions which they raise about how improvements could be made to all of the above.
Are some disabilities more equal than others? Conceptualising fluctuating or recurring impairments within contemporary legislation and practice
- Author:
- BOYD Vic
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 27(4), June 2012, pp.459-469.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In the UK, the concept of fluctuating or recurring impairments has grown both in the public consciousness as well as in frequency of note within policy documentation and legislation. However, contention still surrounds the perceived legitimacy of such impairments, including chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, epilepsy and diabetes, which have the potential to vary in intensity over time, versus more traditional and accepted forms of disability. By drawing on current conceptual discussion and research activities in Canada around what have been termed episodic disabilities, as well as legislative developments in the United Kingdom, this article provides an overview of how fluctuating or recurring impairments have to date been conceptualised, contested, and the central issue of competing definitions within this context
Towards a system of universal benefits
- Author:
- CALLANAN Charlie
- Journal article citation:
- Community Living, 24(4), 2011, pp.10-11.
- Publisher:
- Hexagon Publishing
The English government is undertaking an extensive overhaul of the benefits system since the introduction of the welfare state in post-war Britain. It plans to introduce the universal credit to replace tax credits and five major benefits currently payable to people of working age. The basic idea is to ensure that everyone is better off in work than out of it. This article suggests that, despite problems highlighted by disability groups, the government if unlikely to move from its current course to introduce the system in 2013. The article details some of the expected changes and how they may impact those with disabilities.