| Abstract: | The central challenge in evaluating any aspect of children's policy in Northern Ireland is finding a way to combine acknowledgement of the political violence and instability that marks it out from other UK jurisdictions with recognising its experience as a variation on shared themes. In this paper the devolution agenda of New Labour is related to the progress being made in the peace process and its implications for children's policy considered through focusing on child welfare. With illustrations from policy, legislation and practice, the traditional social policy commitment to ‘parity’ is shown to have always involved negotiation and accommodation between the realities of the region and Westminster's objectives. It is suggested that under New Labour that is continuing and that the term ‘subsidiarity’ may prove helpful in describing and engaging in this process. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
