Social Policy

WHAT IS SOCIAL POLICY?:

• When sociologists research specific areas to influence government policy.

POSITIVE VIEW OF SOCIAL POLICY’S 4 KEY BENEFITS:

• Understanding social situations:

  • Social policy helps us gain facts on society – e.g series of reports by Townsend and later Mack and Lansley found poverty remained a huge but hidden problem in Britain – 11 million+ people in poverty – despite 1960s politicians saying they’d eliminated it.

  • Joseph Rowntree Foundation continually monitors issue of poverty.

    • Research demonstrated the extent of poverty and groups most at risk – children and women.

    • Meant that policies could be targeted at women and children first.

  • Helps us create theories of society – sociologists under covered extent of poverty because they thought of more sophisticated ways to measure it.

    • Brought in ‘relative deprivation’ (instead of absolute poverty) model.

    • Room more recently suggested idea of ‘social exclusion’ (being in poverty if excluded from things others aren’t).

• Awareness of cultural differences:

  • Can help see beyond boundaries of their own groups and seeing from other viewpoints – there would be more discrimination of not.

  • As a result, government tackled discrimination in the area of disability and race.

  • Disability costs government £100 billion each year in state benefits.

  • As well as higher chance of living on poverty (7x more likely to be unemployed), disabled people have to face stigma and discrimination.

  • Picture built up by sociologists has led to groups such as: Disability Alliance, Disablement Income Group and The British Council of Disabled People.

  • Acts have also made: 1995 Disability Discrimination Act; The Disability Rights Commission Act 1999.

    • Has led to gradual shift in public opinion of disabled people.

  • Over last 30 years, decline in expressed racism from the majority population.

    • One reason is the growth in understanding of variety of cultures in Britain.

    • Early studies emphasised issue of conflict; later studies emphasised positive effects of a multicultural society.

    • Led to Race legislation in 1976 and 2000.

• Assessment of the effects of policies:

  • Used to assess how effective the policies government apply actually are.

  • E.g Cost-benefit analysis of healthcare in the NHS.

  • University of York conducted analysis to find out how effective medical procedures were in terms of better quality of life for patients and cost to the NHS.

  • Policy was thought to be working effectively and so has been applied to pharmaceuticals and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence introduced in 1999 – dictating drugs and procedures NHS is prepared to provide.

• Increasing in self-knowledge:

  • Research has given knowledge to many groups which has given them empowerment to challenge the government and demand action including:

    • Those with disabilities

    • Ethnic minority groups

    • Feminists

    • Gay movements

EVALUATION:

• Critical View believes sociology’s radical potential has been tamed by their involvement in Social Policy.

  • The government fund them and so influence them to study topics they choose, and perhaps even influence the results.

• Marxism: Sociology has become too closely linked with the capitalist system.

  • Work with people who cause discrimination and social problems and so are serving their interests by giving them more sophisticated ways of imposing wishes.

• Postmodernism: Bauman – sociology has no contribution to make policy.

  • Because sociologists study society in a rational and scientific manner; albeit believe society isn’t something that can be manipulated and tested.

  • Studying it is a waste of time.

  • Role of sociology is simply to allow people to seek out an understanding of their personal lives within a social context.

POLITICS AND SOCIAL POLICY:

• Sociological can’t always affect policy, even if problem areas are shown:

  • Governments only act when group is powerful enough to have views taken into account.

  • Governments are limited by financial constraints.

  • Some policies have too much resistance from entrenched groups.

  • Governments rarely engage in long term or radical changes.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES:

• After 1980, for tackling poverty in women and children, universal credit and cost of living payments were introduced.

• Poverty in women has been a recent topic because of the cost of living crisis (due to pandemic).

• DDA Group:

  • Places duty on employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.

  • Helps them overcome barriers they may face in gaining and remaining in employment.

• Key messages in Race legislation of 1976 and 2000:

  • Individuals gained the ability to take discrimination complaints directly to civil courts or industrial tribunals.

  • Outlawed racial discrimination areas not covered by 1976 legislation – included introduction of a broader definition of ‘public authorities’ to cover public functions performed by private organisations.

  • Introduced Inclusive Britain in the 2020s.