One Universal Credit: overview and gender implications
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Fran Bennett
Abstract
From October 2013, the UK government is introducing a new ‘super’ means-tested benefit, universal credit, bringing together various payments for those in and out of work. Its main goals are to simplify the benefits system, improve work incentives and combat ‘welfare dependency’. This chapter outlines the main provisions of the proposed scheme and reactions to it. The core of the chapter is an examination of universal credit from a gender perspective, in particular in relation to access to income for individuals in couples. Specific features discussed include the effects on ‘second earners’ and the arrangements for payment. The author argues for ‘welfare reform’ such as this to be analysed in terms of not only the numbers of men and women affected in terms of resources, but also what impact it may have on gender roles and relationships; the potential for individuals to achieve financial autonomy; and gender inequalities within the household, both immediately and in the longer term.
Abstract
From October 2013, the UK government is introducing a new ‘super’ means-tested benefit, universal credit, bringing together various payments for those in and out of work. Its main goals are to simplify the benefits system, improve work incentives and combat ‘welfare dependency’. This chapter outlines the main provisions of the proposed scheme and reactions to it. The core of the chapter is an examination of universal credit from a gender perspective, in particular in relation to access to income for individuals in couples. Specific features discussed include the effects on ‘second earners’ and the arrangements for payment. The author argues for ‘welfare reform’ such as this to be analysed in terms of not only the numbers of men and women affected in terms of resources, but also what impact it may have on gender roles and relationships; the potential for individuals to achieve financial autonomy; and gender inequalities within the household, both immediately and in the longer term.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- 40th anniversary preface xi
- Introduction 1
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Current developments
- Universal Credit: overview and gender implications 15
- Family support and the Coalition: retrenchment, refocusing and restructuring 35
- Housing, the welfare state and the Coalition government 55
- The 2012/13 reforms of higher education in England: changing student finances and funding 77
- Division and opposition: the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 97
-
Social policy in the developed and developing worlds
- Immigrant-targeted activation policies: a comparison of the approaches in the Scandinavian welfare states 117
- Welfare retrenchment under Left and Right government leadership: towards a consolidated framework of analysis? 137
- From black hole to spring: the coming of age of social policy in the Arab countries? 165
- China’s developmental model in Africa: a new era for global social policy? 183
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Severe crisis: social policy in most challenging circumstances
- The Greek welfare state in the age of austerity: anti-social policy and the politico-economic crisis 205
- From opportunity to austerity: crisis and social policy in Spain 231
- From financial crisis to welfare retrenchment: assessing the challenges to the Irish welfare state 257
- The Great Recession and US social policy: from expansion to austerity 277
- Seeking refuge in the Nordic model: social policy in Iceland after 2008 297
- Index 319
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- 40th anniversary preface xi
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- Universal Credit: overview and gender implications 15
- Family support and the Coalition: retrenchment, refocusing and restructuring 35
- Housing, the welfare state and the Coalition government 55
- The 2012/13 reforms of higher education in England: changing student finances and funding 77
- Division and opposition: the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 97
-
Social policy in the developed and developing worlds
- Immigrant-targeted activation policies: a comparison of the approaches in the Scandinavian welfare states 117
- Welfare retrenchment under Left and Right government leadership: towards a consolidated framework of analysis? 137
- From black hole to spring: the coming of age of social policy in the Arab countries? 165
- China’s developmental model in Africa: a new era for global social policy? 183
-
Severe crisis: social policy in most challenging circumstances
- The Greek welfare state in the age of austerity: anti-social policy and the politico-economic crisis 205
- From opportunity to austerity: crisis and social policy in Spain 231
- From financial crisis to welfare retrenchment: assessing the challenges to the Irish welfare state 257
- The Great Recession and US social policy: from expansion to austerity 277
- Seeking refuge in the Nordic model: social policy in Iceland after 2008 297
- Index 319
