Re B‐S: a glass half full? An exploration of the implications of the Re B‐S judgment on practice in the family courts

The family courts in England and Wales are being significantly reformed in line with the coalition government's aim to speed up the process and increase the numbers of children being adopted from care. In September 2013, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment, Re B‐S (Children) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146, that has wide‐ranging implications for professional practice and decision making in care proceedings. The judgment challenges the policy direction and provides guidance about what is required before courts can make orders separating children from their birth families, particularly in cases of non‐consensual adoption. In this paper, we outline the changes occurring in the family justice system, some key elements of Re B‐S, and examine the challenges for implementing practice consistent with the requirements of Re B‐S. It is argued that the standards set by Re B‐S are unlikely to be fully implemented without much further attention to the complexities posed by the policy and practice context of social work with children and their families involved in care proceedings.     

Is Personalization the Right Plan at the Wrong Time? Re‐thinking Cash‐for‐Care in an Age of Austerity

As personalization has dominated the policy agenda for reform in social care, its roll‐out as a mainstream option has coincided with global programmes of austerity which have targeted services for disabled people. Was this simply bad timing or was its implementation always part of the agenda for reform? Whilst the principle of cash‐for‐care schemes drew strongly on promoting the independence and autonomy of disabled people, early incarnations of direct payments policy in the UK were initially at least in part rolled out in light of potential cost savings to social care budgets. This article explores these and other issues in light of evaluations of the Scottish government's self‐directed support (SDS) test sites (2009–11) and implementation of subsequent legislation enforcing models of SDS in Scotland from April 2014. Discussion draws on the authors’ recent book (Pearson et al. 2014) to reflect on what the evidence can tell us about radically transforming social care at a time of global austerity.     

What's in a Name? ‘Work and Family’ or ‘Work and Life’ Balance Policies in the UK since 1997 and the Implications for the Pursuit of Gender Equality

Since 1997, Labour has developed a wide range of policies on childcare services, care leaves and flexible working hours. In 2000, the term ‘work‐life balance’ was introduced and has been used by Government Departments and by the academic community with very little discussion of its meaning vis à vis the use of ‘family‐friendly’ policies, or the promotion of ‘work and family balance’. We explore the introduction of the term work‐life balance, the reasons for it, and its significance at the policy level, especially in terms of its implications for the pursuit of gender equality. We find that at the policy level, its use was more a matter of strategic framing than substantive change. Nevertheless, because of the UK Government's largely gender‐neutral approach to the whole policy field, it is important to make explicit the tensions in the continuing use of the term work‐life balance, particularly in relation to the achievement of gender equality.     

“Crowding in” or “crowding out”? An examination of the impact of the welfare state on generalized social trust

Generalized social trust is correlated with increased levels of civic engagement, lower crime rates, and greater economic growth. Many scholars believe that equality provides the conditions in which social trust can flourish. Thus, welfare programs might be one way to generate social trust. However, the relationship between social spending and trust is contested: Some argue it is negative, while others argue it is positive. This study examined the effects of total social welfare expenditures on social trust in 18 OECD countries, holding constant individual characteristics, country characteristics, and country and year effects. Fixed effects analyses indicate that every additional percent of gross domestic product spent on social expenditures 5 years prior is associated with a 4.7 percent increased likelihood that respondents of that country will endorse trusting other people. Further testing for reverse causality found no significant association between trust and later social expenditures, supporting the claim that expenditures drive trust instead of the reverse.     

Co‐producing innovation or innovating co‐production? Responding to the contact needs of non‐resident parents in the Republic of Ireland

The empowerment and participation of children and families in both the design and the delivery of services oriented towards them is now an accepted norm, if not always the accepted practice. Yet, challenges still remain, particularly where parents are separated and contact issues are problematic. Although contact centres are common in some Western countries including Australia, New Zealand, the UK, France, and the USA, this is not the case in the Republic of Ireland. The relatively recent introduction of divorce, increases in separation and childbirth outside of marriage have led to the need for service planners to respond to the growing issue of non‐resident contact with children. Using Bovaird's co‐production framework, the purpose of this paper is to outline and discuss specific findings relating to service user involvement emanating from a formative evaluation of an innovative supported contact service in Ireland. What emerges from the findings is a picture of co‐production where the broad parameters of the service are professionally defined and where the specifics of service user involvement in delivery vary from family to family but within the bounds of professional control.     

Killing the Golden Goose? Third Sector Organizations and Back‐to‐Work Programmes in Germany and the UK

Third sector, or not-for-profit, organizations have been viewed in many parts of Europe as agencies that can be harnessed by public policy programmes to support the socially excluded. Within the emerging mixed economy of welfare, third sector agencies offering training, support and employment for groups disadvantaged in the labour market provide an important example. This illustrates, from one specific field, the dynamics occurring at the interface between public and third sectors in the delivery of public policy goals. This article examines both the history of 'partnership regimes' in this field and the evolving local organizational arrangement. The developments in the contrasting welfare regimes of Britain and Germany, which exemplify different institutional traditions, are analysed. The potential impact of regulatory changes on the capacity of third sector work integration agencies to deliver policy goals is assessed in both countries using evidence from recent case study research. The analysis suggests that the emerging managerialist partnership structures are tending to convert third sector organizations into 'just in time' deliverers of poor programme outcomes in both welfare regimes while also eroding their distinctive potential to provide more than mere labour market integration.     

Does the unification of health financing affect the distribution pattern of out‐of‐pocket health expenses in Turkey?

Turkey has implemented health reforms for over a decade and has taken significant steps toward unifying health financing. This study investigated the financial burden associated with out‐of‐pocket (OOP) expenditures under universal health coverage, using national 2003–2015 household budget data from the Turkish Statistical Institute. Progress was evaluated using Kakwani–Suits indices and Lorenz concentration curves. The results indicate that overall, more than a decade after its unification, redistribution of wealth in the Turkish health financing system has benefitted the wealthy but not the poor. Both curve and index approaches (Kakwani index 2003 = ?0.50; 2015 = ?0.44) reveal an increasingly regressive pattern of OOP health expenditures. The effective use of fiscal space and good political leadership are essential for the successful continuation of reforms to combat poverty in Turkey.     

Inequality in the welfare state? Local variation in care of the elderly – the case of Sweden

This article uses Sweden as an example to describe and analyse municipal variation in services and care for elderly people. Responsibility for these services lies with the municipalities. National statistical data on municipalities are analysed to map out the variations in old-age care; to study compensating factors in the care system; and to explore the connection with municipal structural and political conditions. The overall finding of the bivariate analyses was that most relations with structure and policy were weak or non-existent. The final multivariate model explained only 15% of the variance. The large differences between municipalities makes it more appropriate to talk about a multitude of 'welfare municipalities' rather than one single welfare state. The article concludes that this municipal disparity constitutes a greater threat to the principle of equality in care of the elderly than gender and socio-economic differences.     

But is it ‘Fair'? The UK Coalition Government, ‘Fairness’ and the ‘Reform’ of Public Sector Pensions

The article analyses arguments for reform of public sector pension schemes by the UK Coalition government on the grounds that existing provision is ‘unfair’. Three dimensions of ‘fairness’ are discussed. That between public and private sector provision; between the costs to public sector employees and other taxpayers; and between members of public sector schemes. The article argues that there are serious weaknesses in the Coalition position on each of these dimensions of ‘fairness’. It suggests that these weaknesses are rooted in the discussion of public sector pensions in isolation from the overall pattern of occupational pension provision in the UK and that a more satisfactory analysis requires reference to principles of distributive justice.     

‘Doing it right?’– accessing the narratives of identity of newly qualified social workers through the lens of resilience: ‘I am,I have,I can’

Using narrative enquiry, this paper accesses the construct of identity through exploring resilience in newly qualified social workers based in statutory children's services. In seeking to avoid deficit‐based models of this role, this paper aims to present inductively the ‘voice’ of three social workers in a semi‐rural authority, storying the positive ways in which resilience has developed during their first year. Using the Grotberg resilience framework (1995) –‘I am, I have, I can’– as an analytical tool at the interface of personal, professional and organizational identities, we conclude that ‘I am’ and ‘I have’ are more important than the skills dimension of ‘I can’. Positive role models, trust, ‘managed’ optimism, flexibility of support in and beyond induction, and, crucially, self‐efficacy and space for reflexivity, are more prominent as sources of resilience and strong identity. The reflexivity, inspired by the process of narrative enquiry, is an important contributor to self‐efficacy. We propose that a positive view of growth and identity is preferable to deficit models in the context of the transition between the two ‘communities of practice’ and of the challenges of the workplace. Organizational approaches based on this view will be more likely to promote a sustainable workforce.     

‘A Common Sense of the Times’? Neo‐liberalism and Changing Public Opinion in New Zealand and the UK

Neo‐liberalism represents a significant and enduring shift in the politics shaping social policy. Although frequently ascribed a hegemonic, all‐powerful status that focuses our attention on the coherence found in neo‐liberal policies, this article builds on scholarly work highlighting variegation in the neo‐liberal project across different policy areas, national settings and time periods. Specifically, it employs Peck's and Tickell's (2002) view that neo‐liberalism has gone through multiple phases in response to both external and internal crises as an entry point for studying neo‐liberalism's impact on public support for the welfare state. Drawing upon New Zealand and British attitudinal data, the article argues that public reactions to an early period of retrenchment (‘roll‐back’ neo‐liberalism) differ from those reported in the ‘roll‐out’ or embedding phase of neo‐liberalism implemented by Third Way Labour Governments in both countries. Indeed, continuing public support in many policy areas arguably contributed to the internal crisis that provoked an adaptation to the neo‐liberal project. The article further explores public support for the welfare state following the external crisis provoked by the financial meltdown of 2008–09 asking whether New Zealand and British attitudes showed signs of resisting austerity measures or whether they, instead, indicated a third, ‘roll‐over’ period of neo‐liberalism where the public accepted not only a neo‐liberal economic agenda but also the need for further retrenchment of the welfare state. Conclusions about the politics of social policy at the level of public opinion offer both good and bad news for welfare state advocates.     

何以安妥灵魂:<<废都>>和<<白夜>>的文化解读

庄之蝶与夜郎等都是乡下来的“都市人”。他们离开故土闯入都味着与农业文明割断脐带,而社会大转型时期知识分子的边缘化和社会严重失序他们倍感困惑和焦虑,他们的文化心理决定着他们向传统文化退缩。     

Toleration or trust? Investigating the acceptance of ‘boat people’ among young Australians

There has been intense debate in Australia regarding how asylum seekers who arrive by boat should be treated. Some call for compassion towards those prepared to risk their lives to seek protection, whereas others believe ‘boat people’ should not be allowed into the country. This article uses data from a large representative sample of young people in Queensland, Australia, to understand the acceptance of asylum seekers by young people in Australia. The findings suggest that young Australians are more accepting than the Australian adult population. Several social and political background factors were also found to be associated with the belief that ‘boat people’ should be permitted into Australia. Fewer factors, however, are associated with the trust young Australians have in people from another country. This suggests that while some young Australians may believe boats carrying asylum seekers should not be turned away, fewer might be prepared to enter into trusting relationships with ‘boat people’ should they resettle in Australia.     

Capitalizing the Crisis? Explanatory Factors for the Design of Short‐time Work across Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development Countries

This article looks at the financial and economic crisis 2008–10 in 18 Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development states and seeks to investigate explanatory paths for the subsidization of further education within short‐time work programmes. Several hypotheses are put to the test: first, a classical partisan difference argument; second, a varieties of capitalism approach proposing a successful joint rallying of employers and employees for subsidization in coordinated market economies; and, lastly, the merged hypothesis that right‐wing parties in a coordinated economic context might subsidize feeling the pressure to overcompensate an ‘issue ownership’ of left parties in the field of employee‐friendly policies. We identify four explanatory paths: coordinated economies in the sample subsidized when they were economically closed or highly indebted. The results also support our combined hypothesis, that New Zealand – a left‐governed liberal market economy – and right‐governed coordinated market economies of the non‐Scandinavian type subsidized.     

Benefit ‘Myths’? The Accuracy and Inaccuracy of Public Beliefs about the Benefits System

There is a widespread assumption by academics and commentators that negative public attitudes to the benefits system are due to ‘myths’ held by the British public. However, there is little research on whether the public believe these ‘myths’, nor critical scrutiny of benefit ‘truths’. This article therefore investigates what British people believe about the benefits system, and the extent to which these beliefs can be regarded as correct. To do this, we use 46 measures from 18 datasets (including British Social Attitudes, the European Social Survey, Eurobarometer, and surveys by YouGov and Ipsos MORI made available for academic study for the first time), and compare these perceptions to true figures obtained from a variety of sources. We find that – against expectations – there are some areas where the public are (on average) relatively accurate (e.g. the share of the population who currently claim out‐of‐work benefits). Yet overall, our evidence shows that the British public have low levels of understanding of the benefits system, primarily in ways that seem likely to undermine public support. People wildly overestimate unemployment benefits compared to pensions, the value of unemployment benefits, and misperceive trends in claims. While it is difficult to know the true level of benefit fraud exactly, the public overestimate fraud compared to any reasonable figure. We conclude by discussing the implications for both understanding and changing attitudes towards benefits.