Eleven Governance at a distance? The turn to the local in UK social policy
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Andrew Wallace
Abstract
This chapter investigates ‘the turn to the local’ in UK social policy, drawing on the concept of ‘governance’. It regards this move towards the self-governance of local neighbourhoods as a genuine, yet contradictory, process. It observes that for New Labour, this process of ‘localisation’ is driven by communitarian ideas that posit the neighbourhood as the unit within which democracy can be revitalised and individuals motivated to act responsibly. It shows how the desire to devolve power to local citizens may fail as a result of particular assumptions about the nature of local space and a lack of understanding of how those citizens may wish to utilise opportunities for local governance, or of the structural contexts that help to shape their lives.
Abstract
This chapter investigates ‘the turn to the local’ in UK social policy, drawing on the concept of ‘governance’. It regards this move towards the self-governance of local neighbourhoods as a genuine, yet contradictory, process. It observes that for New Labour, this process of ‘localisation’ is driven by communitarian ideas that posit the neighbourhood as the unit within which democracy can be revitalised and individuals motivated to act responsibly. It shows how the desire to devolve power to local citizens may fail as a result of particular assumptions about the nature of local space and a lack of understanding of how those citizens may wish to utilise opportunities for local governance, or of the structural contexts that help to shape their lives.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List of contributors vii
- Overview 1
-
Tackling Beveridge’s ‘five evils’, 60 years on
- Freedom from want: 60 years on 11
- Slaying idleness without killing care: a challenge for the British welfare state 29
- Tackling ignorance, promoting social mobility: education policy 1948 and 2008 49
- Beveridge’s giant of disease: from negative to positive welfare? 67
- Tackling squalor? Housing’s contribution to the welfare state 87
- The Poor Law Commission of 1905–09: a view from a century on 109
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Contemporary childcare policy
- Intercountry adoption in Europe 1998–2007: patterns, trends and issues 133
- Family income as a protective factor for child outcomes 167
- Managing shared residence in Britain and France: questioning a default ‘primary carer’ model 197
- Strategic challenges in child welfare services: a comparative study of Australia, England and Sweden 215
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Rescaling social policy
- Governance at a distance? The turn to the local in UK social policy 245
- Spatial rescaling, devolution and the future of social welfare 267
- Rescaling emergent social policies in South East Europe 283
- Index 307
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List of contributors vii
- Overview 1
-
Tackling Beveridge’s ‘five evils’, 60 years on
- Freedom from want: 60 years on 11
- Slaying idleness without killing care: a challenge for the British welfare state 29
- Tackling ignorance, promoting social mobility: education policy 1948 and 2008 49
- Beveridge’s giant of disease: from negative to positive welfare? 67
- Tackling squalor? Housing’s contribution to the welfare state 87
- The Poor Law Commission of 1905–09: a view from a century on 109
-
Contemporary childcare policy
- Intercountry adoption in Europe 1998–2007: patterns, trends and issues 133
- Family income as a protective factor for child outcomes 167
- Managing shared residence in Britain and France: questioning a default ‘primary carer’ model 197
- Strategic challenges in child welfare services: a comparative study of Australia, England and Sweden 215
-
Rescaling social policy
- Governance at a distance? The turn to the local in UK social policy 245
- Spatial rescaling, devolution and the future of social welfare 267
- Rescaling emergent social policies in South East Europe 283
- Index 307
