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Research dissemination through academic blogs creates opportunities for writers to reach wider audiences. With COVID-19, public dissemination of research impacts daily practices, and national and international policies, and in countries like the UK and Spain, The Conversation publishes accessible COVID-19 themed research. Such academic blogs are important to the global academy, yet the role of authorial stance therein is notably under-investigated. This paper presents a corpus-based contrastive analysis of "stance nouns + that/de que" in a comparable corpus of English and Spanish COVID-19 themed academic blogs from The Conversation. The analysis identifies similarities and differences across languages that reflect how COVID-19 is framed in each language. For example, Spanish academics use Possibility and Factualness nouns when self-sourcing their stances with expanding strategies, while English academics use Argument and Idea nouns with external sources in contracting strategies. Overall, this paper adds to current linguistic knowledge on academic blogs and scientific communication surrounding COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a narrative review of the use of collective terminology in relation to race and health in Britain, with particular reference to the 'Black African' community. 'Black Africans' have been categorised in the 1991–2011 censuses with added free‐text in 2021 in response to user demand. However, the UK government is increasingly reporting data for the 'Black' pan‐ethnicity, especially in the even more generalised 'BAME' ('Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic') acronym in COVID‐19 pandemic reports. The consequences of this practice are addressed. Firstly, with respect to ethical challenges, Black Africans find their conscription by government into the term BAME offensive and do not accept it as a self‐descriptor. This labelling, which subsumes Black Africans' self‐assigned ethnicity in the census, and consequent misrecognition may be interpreted as a micro‐aggression (a term coined in the 1970s but used here to denote microinvalidation), as suggested in the current black activism of the 'Black Lives Matter movement'. Secondly, ONS has warned that concealed heterogeneity renders the pan‐ethnicities unreliably crude, making them scientifically inaccurate. Analysts are recommended to present ethnic group data for the full census classification where possible for reasons of validity and respect for the patient as arbiter of their ethnic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are increasing levels of concern about policy and practice related to Lyme disease testing and diagnosis in the UK. A complex debate has emerged, with patient groups challenging clinical and testing practices. This paper focuses on four dimensions of diagnostic testing: accuracy, types of test, clinical application and test interpretation, to illustrate the divergence amongst and between official and patient group views. We explore these issues via analysis of information from sources including patient organisations' documents and statutory policy and professional publications, supplemented by data from an online questionnaire survey. Our analysis shows a lack of consistency in policy, consumerist strategies among patients, and official policy that inhibits illness identity and maintains hard boundaries between patients' experience and public health practice. We suggest that medical policy and practice have become entrenched in defensive testing and clinical protocol. We note recently emerging trends in consultation and patient group involvement, illustrating more participative public health governance. As a joint patient organisation-academic project, we contribute to understanding of patient organisation activism in public health by demonstrating our own collaborative, reflective 'evidence-based' activist research. Notably, in doing so we deploy a variety of forms of knowledge and 'evidence' beyond the often-acknowledged 'experiential' and 'embodied' forms. On this basis, we recommend that shared-decision-making and 'facilitational' advocacy would improve patients' empowerment and their experiences of testing and diagnosis. We argue that such reforms will enhance the perceived legitimacy of 'chronic' Lyme disease claims even under the prevailing conditions of scientific and medical uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2011, the UK Coalition government introduced its flagship welfare-to-work programme, ‘The Work Programme’ (WP). Based on a ‘payment by results’ model, it aims to incentivise contracted providers to move participants into sustained employment. Employer involvement is central to the programme's success and this paper explores the ‘two faces’ of this neglected dimension of active labour market policy (ALMP) analysis: employer involvement with the programme and the engagement between providers and employers. This paper draws empirically from a regional survey of primarily private and third sector SMEs, and from interviews with providers and stakeholders about provider engagement with SMEs and large employers. Findings indicate that SMEs had recruited few staff through the WP and had little awareness of it, and that providers engaged in intense competition to access both SMEs and large employers. Employers are critical to the success of ALMPs, but an underpinning supply-side ideology and a regulatory context in which business interest associations are weak policy actors means that their involvement is based on implicit and flawed assumptions about employers’ interests and their propensity to engage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background This paper reviews the early work of Griffith Edwards and his colleagues on alcohol in the criminal justice system and outlines the direction of research in this area in the Addiction Research Unit in the 1960s and 1970s. The paper outlines the link between that work and work undertaken in the more recent past in this area. Methods The key papers of the authors are reviewed and the impact of this work on policy and practice is discussed. Conclusions There is a rich seam of work on deprived and incarcerated populations that has been under way at the Addiction Research Unit and subsequently the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London. Griffith Edwards initiated this work that explores the risks and problems experienced by people moving between the health and criminal justice system, and demonstrated the need for better care and continuity across this system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Devolution has become a key 'global trend' over recent decades as many states have decentralised power to sub-state governments. The UK resisted this trend until the late 1990s when devolution was enacted by the then Labour Government, taking a highly asymmetrical form in which different territories have been granted different powers and institutional arrangements. Devolution allows the devolved governments to develop policies that are tailored to the needs of their areas, encouraging policy divergence, although this is countered by pressures to ensure that devolved approaches do not contradict those of the central state, promoting convergence. This review paper aims to assess the unfolding dynamics of devolution and policy divergence in the UK, spanning different policy areas such as economic development, health and social policy. The paper emphasises that devolution has altered the institutional landscape of public policy in the UK, generating some high-profile examples of policy divergence, whilst also providing evidence of policy convergence. In addition, the passage of time underlines the nature of UK devolution as an unfolding process. Its underlying asymmetries have become more pronounced as the tendency towards greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales clashes with a highly centralised mode of policymaking in Westminster, the consequences of which have spilt over into the devolved territories in the context of the post-2007 economic crisis through public expenditure cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the political system in Great Britain, the criticism over poverty and race relations in the migration debate and the vulnerability and hostility of the immigrants.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the language and cultural assumptions that government uses when proposing policy reforms for the financing of later life, especially in promoting the financial capability of citizens. The author asks what the implications of this political construction are for society. Design/methodology/approach - The author examines UK government policy documents from the foundation of the Financial Services Authority in 1997 until 2013. The author analyses these documents to understand the discourses of government for the financing of later life, how powerful these discourses are, and what influence they have on policy and society. Findings - The paper shows that the government considers the promotion of the financial capability agenda to be a solution to structural problems in the provision of old age welfare. By controlling the discourse, non-market-based discussions of welfare are closed and any need for examination of the structural causes of inequality in old age is made invisible. The discourse prevents critique of the individualisation of risk and market provided welfare and service delivery, and failures of policy become the failures of individuals as both consumers and regulators. Originality/value - The financial capability agenda sounds so sensible and has enrolled so many different organisations in its delivery that it is rare to reflect on the cultural and political assumptions that lie behind these discourses. When these are analysed, the author observes that individualised discourses surrounding money and welfare in later life are so powerful that more collective solutions to issues of financial welfare are closed off from public debate and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to expand upon the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) presentation given at the "Portraying of Ageing" conference, which was organised by the British Library and held in London in April 2014. Design/methodology/approach - Changing demographics, wealth distribution, government debt and voting patterns are examined in order to question whether current government policy should continue to protect older generations at the expense of younger and future generations. Findings - IF provides statistically robust evidence that, in spite of increasing wealth, older generations continue to be protected by government policy while younger generations are targeted for cuts from liabilities built up, but not paid for, by previous generations. Social implications - Government policy may have tipped too far in favour of older wealthier cohorts, many of whom receive automatic benefits based on reaching a certain age. Governments should consider replacing age as a proxy for need with means-testing in order to rebalance benefits more fairly across the generations. Originality/value - There have been limited research studies comparing the incidence of wealth amongst older generations and the scale of liabilities being passed on to younger and future generations. This paper will be of value to policy-makers interested in rebalancing the interests of all generations more equitably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the historical formation of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in the United States and argues that programme emergence depended on the ability of policy entrepreneurs to link the economic concerns of agricultural production with the ideational concern of national security. Using a historical institutionalist framework this paper stresses the critical juncture of the Second World War and the positive feedback loop created between agricultural industries and schools to understand the emergence of the NSLP. In addition, it stresses the role of frames in policy-making and focuses on the use by policy entrepreneurs of a security frame whereby child malnutrition was cast as a national security issue. The policy window of war gave policy entrepreneurs the chance to use the politically and culturally resonant frame of security, in the contexts of agricultural subsidies, to push for the creation of this programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines UK public policy addressing the seed and early stage equity finance gap since the global financial crisis (GFC). Drawing on lessons learned from recent studies of UK and international government equity schemes, two contemporary models of government-backed equity finance are examined. The focus is on the Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) and the Angel Co-Investment Fund (ACF), the UK government's main schemes operating in the sub-£2m equity finance gap to address the capital requirements for developing the UK's young, potential high growth businesses. The paper highlights the shortcomings of traditional interim fund performance analysis and presents current demand and supply side evidence that establishes that these schemes are making attributable impacts on their portfolio businesses and the wider UK economy. It also demonstrates that they are playing important roles in the establishment of a new post-GFC UK finance escalator. However, whilst these schemes were found to be currently complementary and effective, their future roles within the UK's evolving post-GFC seed and early stage equity markets are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article includes a policy paper first presented at the SEN (Special Education Needs) Policy Research Forum, held February 7, 2013 at the NCB (National Children's Bureau) charity's headquarters in London, England, which focused on educational accountability polices under Great Britain's SEND (special education needs and disabilities) legislative system. Topics covered include parental participation, school choice, and local school authorities.

Following a century of legislation about film and the film industry in the UK, and the latest in a series of reports on 'film policy', this paper investigates the relationship between law, policy and film. Case studies on the definition of 'film' in a time of technological and cultural change consider the privileged position of the cinema in terms of censorship and tax, including the new phenomenon of 'alternative content'; that is, live relays of theatrical performances. Institutional change is assessed and criticised, particularly the abolition of the UK Film Council and the steady move from statute to executive action. The paper sets out a case for the role of the state to be set out in legislation and the cultural consequences of legal definitions to be taken more seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess, since the 2006 Fraud Review, recommendations, strategies and consequential organisational and other changes at national, regional and local levels relating to fraud, using the Northeast as a case study. It also notes that implementation may have been influenced by institutional changes and related emerging governmental policy agendas and institutional changes relating to organised crime, terrorism and cybercrime.Design/methodology/approach The research for the paper was undertaken by desk reviews of primary and secondary material. The paper also involved face-to-face interviews with personnel from the regional fraud unit and the three North-east police forces' fraud units. The interviews were semi-structured and were conducted on grounds of anonymity for the personnel and the forces involved, with a focus on trends and issues. The personnel were invited to comment on a draft of the paper in terms of accuracy of the information they provided; no revisions or additions were proposed. Interpretation of that information is the sole responsibility of the author.Findings The paper finds that, despite the decade since the Fraud Review, issues of effectiveness or relevance of national fraud strategies, absence of incentives and identifiable benefits and continuous influence of competing agendas on police priorities continue to marginalise fraud as a mainstream police function and limit the level of resource committed to what also continues to be a rising area of criminality.Research limitations/implications The research looks at the recommendations, strategies and consequential organisational and other changes at national, regional and local levels through implementation by four policing units in the North-east. It also notes that implementation may have been influenced by institutional changes and related emerging governmental policy agendas and institutional changes relating to organised crime, terrorism and cybercrime. While the research is limited in that, it draws on the experience of three local and one regional fraud unit; its findings support further research about the implementation of strategies and agendas in practice on the ground.Practical implications The research validates many of the findings by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and supports the need to review national strategies to ensure effective implementation at local level for what also continues to be a rising area of criminality.Social implications The research raises important issues concerning public concern over fraud where majority of frauds are of high volume, low value with low levels of recovery and usually targeted at individuals but where the policing responses are targeted elsewhere.Originality/value The research is the first study on the local implementation of national strategies on fraud and raises positive and less positive aspects of how far national strategies and intentions are addressed on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first part of a study on visit numbers to UK regional and local museums. It reviews the limited past research on the topic, examines the motivations for counting such visits and the means required to do so, and explores the methods used from the early nineteenth century to now. A concluding section discusses the theme within the context of modern public policy on museums. In relating historic context to current practice, it shows that, irrespective of the general use of visit numbers as a proxy for public interest and institutional importance, the practice of collecting museum visit numbers continues to be inconsistent and their publication erratic. It suggests that the lack of accepted good practice makes this an area for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Professional partnerships between housing and health are not impossible, but they take time, commitment and dedicated strategic leadership. The language and culture of the two sectors are sometimes complex and do not always match. There can be issues understanding each other's motivation, ethics and terminology which can cause a barrier when working together. The purpose of this paper is to share the journey of how Wakefield District Housing (WDH) is working with the care and health sector to create sustainable partnerships that benefit both parties, getting to a stage where they could successfully integrate with healthcare providers in the Wakefield district.Design/methodology/approach The paper offers the reader an overview of how WDH's membership of the Wakefield Health and Wellbeing Board enabled improved partnership working with NHS and other members, including the establishment of a Housing, Health and Social Care Partnership, the employment of dedicated senior staff, co-located multi-disciplinary teams and joint design of new services.Findings WDH has demonstrated that the organisation understands the challenges facing NHS colleagues, has acknowledged the complexities of the system that their partners work in and looked for solutions alongside them. The opportunities within partnership working are boundless and, if successful, the outcomes for tenants and the wider Wakefield population could be in excess of those envisaged in planning the project. Partnerships will almost inevitably encounter challenges along the way but if all partners keep their own and shared visions in mind, further success is within reach and all parties will get there faster by not going alone.Practical implications The paper offers useful guidance and ideas for other housing organisations aiming to improve their contribution to local integrated healthcare.Originality/value This paper provides an original perspective from inside the programme, offering practical, comprehensive and deliverable initiatives to improve health outcomes for local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Help with activities of daily living for people in the community is provided through formal services (public and private) and informal (often unpaid) care. This paper investigates how these systems interlock and who is at risk of unmet need. It begins by mapping differences between OECD countries in the balance between formal and informal care, before giving a detailed breakdown for the UK. New analysis of UK Family Resources Survey data for 2012/13 and 2013/14 suggests high levels of unmet need. We investigate who receives formal and informal care, and who receives neither, among the working-age and older populations. We find that while informal care fills some gaps left by the lack of availability of formal services (and vice versa), not all older or working-age disabled people are protected in these ways. Adults living alone and those with high but not the highest levels of difficulty are most likely to have unmet need. Means-tested public entitlements ameliorate but do not remove the increased risk among people in low-income households. The paper concludes that public policy needs to integrate its support for formal and informal modes of care, with particular attention to those groups most at risk of unmet need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pension systems characterized by low or moderate state benefits, reliance on voluntary private pensions creates a dualism of access to adequate retirement income. This dualism is expected to persist over time. Yet while some private-heavy pension systems continue to rely on dualising voluntarism, since the 1980s most have introduced regulatory reforms to make private pensions more encompassing. This paper uses fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify three paths to the regulatory extension of private pension coverage – collective self-regulation, top-down regulation in Continental Europe, and top-down regulation in Anglophone countries. A case study of the UK then shows how it is that unions have been able to bring about more encompassing private pensions in Anglophone countries, despite strong employer opposition, weak formal influence in policymaking, and a weak institutional capacity for collective self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent UK welfare reforms have been less successful than expected by the Government in supporting unemployed people with long‐term illness into work. Frontline workers remain a core element of the new welfare‐to‐work machinery, but operate within a changed organisational and policy landscape. These changes raise important questions regarding whether and how claimants’ health‐related barriers to work are considered. This paper examines the UK welfare‐to‐work frontline worker's role with claimants who have long‐term illness. Fieldwork observations in three not‐for‐profit employment support services and semi‐structured interviews with 29 participants (claimants, frontline workers, healthcare professionals and managers) were conducted between 2011 and 2012. Participant observation of the wider welfare‐to‐work arena was initiated in 2009 and continued until 2013. A qualitative methodology drawing on ethnographic principles was adopted. Thematic analysis of the data was carried out. The findings show that the frontline worker plays a key role in assessing and addressing claimants’ health‐related barriers to work. Two important health‐related role dimensions were identified: a health promoter role which involved giving health promotional advice to claimants about their general health; and a health monitor role which involved observing and questioning claimants about their general health. Frontline workers’ practice approaches were shaped by organisational and individual factors. Integration between the National Health Service and employment support services was limited, and the findings suggested improvements were required to ensure an adequate response to claimants’ health‐related needs to support their journey into work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Services for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK have evolved over the years from hospital-based care to more community provision. There are multiple reasons for these changes, however, often it was due to changes in social policy or following a scandal in provision. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach Providing services to meet the health and social care needs of people with intellectual disabilities is well-established in the four countries of the UK with support from legislation. There are often specialist mental health and social care teams. Dedicated professionals work with people with intellectual disabilities who experience mental health problems with a focus on support in the community. A range of services for children and adults and for offenders exist across the UK that often vary in composition and structure.Findings The challenges in providing mental health services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the future include recruitment and training of the workforce with the remit of enhancing community support and reduced in-patient care.Practical implications This paper helps the reader to understand how ID mental health services are organised in the UK.Originality/value This paper gives a summary of the ID mental health services in the UK. Even though there are various papers looking at different aspects of mental health services for people with ID in the UK, this paper brings all that information together to help reader get a better understanding of the mental health services for people with ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws on in-depth research on the impacts of urban regeneration programmes on small business communities in Haringey, London. It uses the Haringey case to document and describe the rolling out of more entrepreneurial forms of delivery-based urban policy and planning. It explores the relationships between austerity and local government finance; recent reforms to the planning system and the implementation of delivery-based, housing-focused urban regeneration programmes; and the types of urban built environment that are now emerging in cities. The discussion uses the example of small business communities to assess the impacts that contemporary planning interventions have on the form and character of urban economic development. It concludes by highlighting some of the broader implications for the planning of diverse cities and outlines future directions for research and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the politics behind high-rise housing and focuses on Glasgow, Scotland 's largest city, as a case study to explore and understand the impact and consequences of sustained disinvestment in social housing. In recent decades there has been much investment on a global scale in high-rise living, while dominant narratives that surround the discussion of social housing in the UK has denigrated high-rise blocks and mobilized negative narratives about the tenants they house. Stigma and polarization often lead to what is seen as the only solution: demolition. However, the process of demolition is highly political, contextualized and highlights the classed nature of urban policy and of housing provision. This directly shapes the increasingly polarized landscapes of inequality which have become so pronounced in UK urban areas. The paper makes reference to the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London in 2017 and the case of the Red Roads flats demolition in Glasgoiv to highlight the wider issues within the politics of social housing, the impact and consequences of sustained disinvestment in social housing and the inequality experienced within the social and geographical landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-20thC., construction and engineering pedagogy and curricula have moved from long-held traditional experiential apprenticeship approaches to one ostensibly decoupling practice and theory. This paper traces this decoupling and explores modern-day opportunities and challenges for recoupling university education with industry practice. Within this context the UK Government funds Graduate Level Apprenticeships (GLA) and introduces the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), arguably signalling a desire to recouple. Nevertheless, many challenges from following previous UK Government policy prioritising research remain, particularly for post-1992 institutions. Arguably, Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) are at a pedagogical crossroads, considering whether to choose REF-ville, TEF-ville, and/or Apprentice Township. Do HEI’s continue their increasingly decontextualized theoretical approach, or re-embrace construction and engineering education’s experiential roots? We present and discuss opportunities and challenges currently facing HEI’s, aiming to help inform decisions regarding recoupling theory and practice in construction and engineering teaching and learning, but potentially also other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the value that UK trade unions now place on the living wage.Design/methodology/approach The author is the TUC’s Pay Policy Officer and examines the issue from a practitioner’s perspective.Findings The living wage now has a well-established place within the hierarchy of pay demands adopted by UK trade unions. This continues a tradition of unions supporting norms and regulations as an adjunct to collective bargaining. However, support had to be achieved through a process of negotiation with the broader UK living wage campaign.Practical implications The paper concludes that there are good prospects for the living wage, and thus for the continued trade union support.Social implications The living wage standard is seen as having a strong moral basis, which often helps to win agreement with good employers. This results in a steady stream of workers out of in-work poverty. The credit for such pay increases is often shared between employers and trade unions.Originality/value The paper is written by a practitioner with inside knowledge and experience of the entire course of the living wage campaign in the UK and how it has been adopted and integrated by trade unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper presents an account of the UK campaign for the voluntary Living Wage, an example of civil regulation. The purpose of this paper is to identify and characterize the actors involved in the campaign, describe methods used and examine direct and indirect consequences of the campaign.Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method design is employed, reflecting the broadly framed purpose of the research. The research used semi-structured interviews with campaigners, union representatives and employers, observation of campaign activities and the creation of a database of Living Wage employers.Findings The campaign originated in the community organizing movement, but has involved a broad range of labor market actors, both “new” and “old.” A continuum of campaigning methods has been used, stretching from community mobilization to appeals to employer self-interest and corporate social responsibility. The campaign has recruited 3,000 employers, led to wage increases for thousands of workers and registered indirect effects by shaping the policies of governments, employers and unions.Originality/value The research presents a novel account of the UK’s distinctive Living Wage campaign, a notable example of the civil regulation of the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate different approaches to effective campaigning in support of the Living Wage and so this paper contributes to the broader debate over the nature of the union movement’s engagement with community groups in pursuit of workplace and social issues.Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a systematic comparison of a union-led and a community-led campaign, drawing primarily upon interview and survey data.Findings Though different, both campaigns met with a measure of success in improving employee pay and in increasing union membership suggesting a pragmatic approach to the building of union-community relationships.Practical implications The paper shows the need for campaigners to adopt a strategic approach in identifying the target for their campaign, and also the importance of shaping a persuasive argument.Originality/value The paper reaffirms the importance of traditional union-led campaigning alongside campaigning through engagement with community groups and so offers a broader framework for exploring the relationships between union and community groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of pledges to reach net-zero emissions has revealed a wide range of understandings of what such a pledge entails. The lack of international standards to define decarbonisation pathways and the many kinds of speculative offsets available for net-zero calculations have generated a multiplication of public commitments not tethered to any specific mechanism of accountability. Many have criticised this state of affairs as a governance vacuum allowing extravagant forms of 'greenwashing,' with corporations and countries asserting ostensibly ambitious goals without adopting verifiable instruments for their delivery. This paper addresses the situation from a slightly different perspective, exploring instead how net-zero pledges create new climate publics and counter-publics. Drawing on three case studies (UK national net-zero policy, the Race to Zero campaign, and the Science Based Targets Initiative), and informed by a pragmatist understanding of 'public' and 'public formation,' we examine how the adoption of a formal but ambiguous target leads to a collective consideration of consequences, thus expanding the range of actors engaged in disputes over alternative climate futures. • Imaginations of net zero futures are unavoidably ambiguous and open to interpretation. • Setting net zero targets and delineating their consequences can enable the formation of new publics and counter publics. • This process hinges on the deployment of specific devices to imagine and deliberate on plausible futures. • The paper develops a pragmatist framework for investigating the formation of publics as a political consequence of net zero publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) has become an established intervention to support patient recovery after a cardiac event, with evidence supporting its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in improving patient health and reducing future burden on healthcare systems. However, this evidence has focussed on the national value case for CR rather than at the point at which it is commissioned. This analysis uses the UK as a case-study to explore variation in current CR engagement and disassemble the value case from a commissioner perspective. Using data collected by the National Audit of CR (NACR), and an existing model of cost-effectiveness, we present details on the current level of CR uptake by commissioning region (Specialist Clinical Networks) in light of the current UK target of achieving 85% uptake. We then interrogate the value case for achieving the target at a commissioner level, highlighting the expected profile of health benefits and healthcare system costs over the long-term. Importantly we consider where this may differ from the national value case. Each commissioning region has a unique level of CR uptake and sociodemographic profile. Concurrently, the value case for commissioning CR relies on the upfront cost of the service being offset by long-term healthcare savings, and health improvements. The shift in the UK and internationally to more localised commissioning necessitates evidence of cost-effectiveness that better reflects the realities of those decision makers. This paper provides vital additional data to facilitate such commissioners to understand the value case in increasing CR uptake in line with national policy. • Many nations are aiming to increase rates of CR uptake. • Commissioning of services is complex and different from national decision making. • The challenges in reaching targets are different for each region. • It is important to consider equity when commissioning CR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose No civilian has any comprehension of life in British military forces, or the impact of the removal of that life when unexpectedly returned to “Civvy Street” following the onset of a permanent illness or profound disability, with the gradual realisation that support in the civilian world means that a disabled veteran is just one of a crowd. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approach Participant observation.Findings Welfare reforms together with austerity measures introduced by the British government are causing preventable harm to the most vulnerable in society.Research limitations/implications This paper was written by invitation and is limited by word length.Practical implications Older working-age disabled veterans are being abandoned by the state and suffer due to a change in government social policy.Social implications Disregarding the suffering and preventable harm created in society by the ongoing welfare reforms will have consequences that will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, as the often tragic consequences are eventually alerted to the public.Originality/value A demonstration that the older working-age disabled veterans are being harmed by welfare reforms and the armed forces covenant has been breached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of safeguarding children from violence is internationally recognised. However, detecting, intervening and protecting children from abuse both within the family and in institutions is complex. This paper specifically focuses on safeguarding in England and how workforce reform in the early years offers the opportunity to forge new partnerships with families and professionals. These relationships have the potential to support more positive outcomes for babies, young children and families who are ‘in need’ or where the children are at risk of significant harm or abuse has occurred. The paper draws on the findings from research exploring the impact of workforce reform in the early years and how the changes impact upon the wider safeguarding agenda. It will argue that the introduction of an inter-disciplinary graduate professional in the early years has afforded an opportunity to forge new partnerships that have the potential to significantly impact on child maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accessible summary Self-Directed Support is the latest system of social care giving vulnerable people in the UK a budget instead of a service provided by local authorities., There is a lack of evidence to demonstrate how people with intellectual disabilities access information and make choices about Self- Directed Support., Self- Directed Support is not yet available to all individuals with an intellectual disability., There is a need for further education and training for professionals and support staff to ensure that people who have intellectual disabilities are assisted to make informed choices about care provision., Summary A systematic literature review was conducted between September 2010 and April 2011 and published earlier in this journal, paper 1. The findings indicated that few studies of Self- Directed Support focused specifically on people with intellectual disabilities. The range of individuals' ability and distinction between adults with or without legal capacity have not been addressed. It is clear that Self- Directed Support is not, as yet, a viable option for all individuals with an intellectual disability. However, some who have accessed it reported an improvement in their quality of life. For Self- Directed Support to succeed for people with a wide range of intellectual disabilities, the level of awareness of its existence, and the potential barriers in relation to uptake, must be identified and addressed. This paper suggests possible strategies to maximise access to Self- Directed Support and identifies areas in which further research is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on government anti-trafficking policies and funding allocations in two case-study countries, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (UK). The paper discusses specific ways, or 'vectors', in which human trafficking has been discursively constructed by national policies and the solutions that have been offered to counteract it. It relies on publicly available information and information obtained via Freedom of Information requests from public authorities in these countries to explore the extent to which anti-trafficking funding allocated by national governments supports or unsettles such representations. A broader definition of human trafficking has been encoded into anti-trafficking policies in Ukraine, implicating migratory pressures and violation of irregular migrants' human rights as the root causes of trafficking. However, the ability of the government to act upon this definition is limited by the ongoing socio-economic and political crises in Ukraine. This is in comparison to the politicised construction of trafficking by the UK government as a threat from international organised crime and 'illegal' immigration. The paper concludes that governments in both countries put their anti-trafficking money where 'their mouths are': crime, immigration and victim care in the UK, and awareness raising, victim care and training of 'frontline professionals' in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policy of personalisation in adult social care was initially associated with the New Labour government. It was presented as a way of simultaneously ensuring the fuller engagement of service users and improving the quality and appropriateness of care outcomes while also being economically efficient. In the later stages of New Labour's period in government, local authorities were required to make positive steps to implement the policy, which it was claimed would ‘transform’ social care. However, the role that social work could play in this policy was never made explicit. Following the general election of 2010, a Conservative-led Coalition government was established. The Coalition subsequently announced that one of its overriding priorities was to reduce the deficit in public expenditure within a five-year period. This paper explores the implications of this for both service users and social workers by examining a number of related factors. It will begin by discussing the key features of personalisation including an identification of a number of ways in which the policy can be criticised. It will then focus on the continuing lack of clarity about the place of social work within these changes, before moving on to consider the impact of the austerity measures on service users and on social work. By examining the nature of British social work as a ‘state-mediated’—and hence politically dominated—profession, the paper will argue that there is no certainty that social work will be considered as critical to a full implementation of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes two claims. First, it claims that there are various trends within academic law that discourage legal scholars from learning about their predecessors. These trends are explained. Secondly, it claims that there are a number of benefits which could flow from addressing this neglect. Several of these benefits have been acknowledged elsewhere. For example, some scholars maintain that ideas are best treated historically before being dealt with analytically. The more scholars read whole bodies of their predecessors' works, the better their interpretations and understandings of such works become, thus strengthening the intellectual integrity of the discipline. While agreeing with this argument, the purpose of the second section of this paper is to articulate other, perhaps less obvious, benefits. It is argued that by learning about a wider range of past academic endeavour, legal scholars are encouraged to challenge existing notions of academic standing and consider not only what the legal academy has become but also what it ought to be. Learning about scholarly predecessors could help scholars better contextualise current challenges. Such learning could be empowering in the context of a discipline whose scholarly practices have meant that there has been little reason to look to the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore the operationalizing of a philosophy of humanization of hostel care and the challenge to such development presented by the proposed adoption of the "housing first" approach ("Chez Soi D'Abord") in Paris. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper is a translation of the transcript of an address given by the author to a symposium of psycho-analytic therapists working with the homelessness resettlement services in their quarter of Paris. It is a narrative of service development, described in some practical detail, with philosophical and psycho-analytic depths. Findings -- A philosophy of care and social education is replacing the philosophy of surveillance that had characterized earlier development of hostels. Psycho-analytic concepts, based on the writings of Lacan, help to understand the importance of addressing the profound psycho-social dislocation of individuals subject to the implicit violence of their situation. Originality/value -- This is the first known paper in print and in English to describe the development of a psychologically informed environment in homelessness resettlement in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Appropriate housing for the growing population of older adults is becoming an international concern. The purpose of this paper is to report on a review of UK and international literature carried out as part of a project exploring the commissioning and delivery of social care in housing with care settings. The paper also considers housing with care in the context of UK policy and practice. Design/methodology/approach -- The peer literature review process used a range of academic databases as well as government and third sector web sites, drawing on relevant material in English published from 1990 to 2012. Findings -- Findings are presented within three main themes: how care and support is provided; the role of the built environment; and the benefits for resident well-being. The review found a paucity of literature focusing specifically on care and support in housing with care settings, particularly in terms of how social care is delivered, but the evidence base suggests that housing with care is in a strong position to deliver on most if not all UK government aspirations. Practical implications -- Despite a growing literature both in the UK and internationally exploring the characteristics and benefits of housing with care for older people, substantial gaps remain in the research evidence. Originality/value -- This paper presents an up to date review of the housing with care literature in the context of current UK policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides analysis of British government policy documents related to the ways schools are funded for special educational needs and disability (SEND). Topics discussed include the alleged marketisation of SEND in Great Britain, the entitlement aspects of SEND, and proposed educational reform to SEND.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the claim that the tie-break criterion introduced under the Equality Act 2010 is not really positive action as is claimed by its government sponsors. It evaluates this claim by locating the tie-break into equal opportunities theory, taking into account merit considerations, and reviews its potential implications. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual discussion of the tie-break. Findings – The paper concludes that the tie-break is not positive action, nor is it positive discrimination. It employs the framework established by Forbes (1991) and attempts to locate it in theoretical discussions of the need to refine merit to take identity characteristics into account. While it could serve to make a more sophisticated approach to merit possible it fails to achieve its implicit potential in this regard. Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual and will benefit from empirical support in the future. Practical implications – Practically, the tie-break promises to add some greater clarity to the muddled understanding of equal opportunities and diversity that underpins much policy and legislation. As a result it will arguably prove hard to implement and will carry other associated problems. Social implications – Socially, the tie-break, mis-represented as it currently is, promises to create greater uncertainty around the nature and purposes of equality of opportunity. Consequently, it could exacerbate tensions and hostilities and promote significant resistance to "equality" measures. Originality/value – This paper is an original conceptual piece that will shine a light on an important legal innovation. The tie-break is not what it is described to be and carries both potential and threat for advocates of equality of opportunity. In pursuing socially significant outcomes of this type, conceptual accuracy and transparency are vital, and this paper contributes to this endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon analysis of policy documents and interviews with key policy makers and professionals co-ordinating Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in various settings, this paper interrogates the socio-political drivers underpinning SRE policy and practice with reference to the contemporary Welsh context. In media output in the UK context and beyond, there have been widespread public concerns about the over-sexualization of young girls, sexual grooming and the increasing commercialization of sex. These issues are also significant in Wales, but a different socio-political culture has led to different public pronouncements and a distinctive SRE approach. In this paper, we outline relatively new Welsh Assembly Government guidance on SRE (March 2010) in the context of a devolved education system. We argue that the characteristics of the Welsh approach to SRE include an emphasis on children’s rights and citizenship values, together with efforts to make SRE delivery more multidisciplinary and integrated. We also identify a different political rhetoric around sexual morality and family values, compared with that of England. This more progressive approach to SRE policy making, implementation and delivery in Wales is contrasted with the more heated pronouncements on the subject emanating from Westminster, particularly in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the factors that enhanced the relevance achieved by a specific research project concerned with the implementation of a local carbon policy in the UK. This policy required the installation of low and zero carbon ( LZC) energy technologies within new homes throughout a particular borough. Sensitive to the contingent nature of relevance, the aim of the paper is not to propose universal determinants for achieving relevance in research but to crystallise out the multitude of factors that have enabled this specific piece of research in the field of human geography to reach and function effectively at the research/policy interface. The initial framework employed explores these factors under three sub-headings derived from the extant research literature: pertinence, commitment and application. The issue of trustworthiness is then introduced as an additional sub-heading worthy of consideration in relation to the contributing processes at work in building this research's relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the context of acute public spending cuts and the increasing push towards localism, the UK government is increasingly looking outwards to community- and citizen-led action for solutions to long-term social problems and to take on public services. The extent to which these groups have the capacity and willingness to take on politicised roles beyond their purpose and function is, however, not well understood. By reflecting on findings primarily from a street-level mapping project, in this paper discussion focuses on the potential implications arising from grassroots' co-option. La société civile au niveau de la base populaire à la croisée des chemins : rester sur le chemin de l'indépendance ou prendre la voie du gouvernement britannique vers le localisme ? Dans le contexte des profondes coupes sombres opérées dans les dépenses publiques et de la poussée croissante vers le localisme, le gouvernement britannique se tourne de plus en plus vers l'extérieur, vers des actions menées par les communautés et les citoyens pour résoudre les problèmes sociaux à long terme et se charger des services publics. La mesure dans laquelle ces groupes ont les capacités et la volonté nécessaires pour assumer des rôles politisés qui dépassent leur finalité et leur fonction n'est pas, toutefois, bien comprise. En réfléchissant sur les constatations faites principalement dans le cadre d'un projet de cartographie au niveau des rues, la discussion de cet article porte sur les implications potentielles de la cooptation de la base populaire. La sociedad civil de base en la disyuntiva: ¿mantener el camino de la independencia o tomar la ruta del gobierno del Reino Unido hacia el localismo? En un contexto de severos recortes en el gasto público y de creciente impulso hacia el localismo, el gobierno del Reino Unido está fomentando cada vez más que las comunidades y los ciudadanos impulsen acciones tendientes a solucionar longevos problemas sociales y que se hagan cargo de los servicios públicos. Sin embargo, no se comprende bien hasta qué punto dichos grupos tienen la capacidad y la disposición de asumir roles politizados más allá de sus objetivos y de su función. A partir de reflexiones en torno a las conclusiones provenientes principalmente de un proyecto de mapeo a nivel de calle, el presente artículo se centra en analizar las posibles implicaciones que podrían surgir de la cooptación de los grupos de base. Sociedade civil de base na encruzilhada: permanecendo no caminho para a independência ou voltando-se para a rota do governo do Reino Unido em direção ao localismo? Dentro do contexto de significativos cortes nos gastos públicos e um empenho crescente em direção ao localismo, o governo do Reino Unido está cada vez mais olhando para fora para ações coordenadas pela comunidade – e cidadãos – para soluções de problemas sociais de longo prazo e contratação de serviços públicos. Porém, não se sabe muito bem até que ponto estes grupos têm capacidade e disposição de adotar funções politizadas além de seu propósito e função. Ao refletir sobre os resultados obtidos principalmente a partir de um projeto de mapeamento realizado nas ruas, a discussão deste artigo concentra-se nas implicações em potencial que surgem da opção conjunta de base. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the White Paper: A Framework for Expansion--the ten year plan of the government for education in Great Britain. It hedges much of its planning by saying there is room for flexibility and many points still remain for decision. It is planned that the public expenditure on maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools will rise from 1475 million pounds in 1971 to 2,000 million pounds in 1981 at 1972 survey prices. This means an assumed growth rate of 3 per cent compared with two and half percent for the decade 1961-62 to 1971-72. Thus, the White Paper shifts the emphasis of public spending and it is important since the growth in numbers in primary and secondary education will ease off in the current decade. The commitment to universal nursery education, in-service education for teachers, improvements in staffing standards, the reduction in class sizes and the rapid acceleration in primary and secondary school improvements to buildings, are the hardcore objectives. The first 16 pages of the report deal with them.

The overarching aim of data ethics is to promote responsible and sustainable use of data and its products for the benefit ofpeople and society. Through an analysis of various approaches to data and AI ethics in the public sector, this paper aims to identify key goals and challenges for a data ethics policy function and provide recommendations. The paper connects the practical experience of data ethics professionals and the emerging theory through combining a literature review with primary data gathered during workshops with practitioners in the United Kingdom. It finds that key challenges for data ethics in the public sector include the lack of accountability of data ethics tools, lack ofskills and awareness, the saturated landscape of ethical guidance, and insufficient diversity in the field. Opportunities and recommendations include: embedding data ethics in data science processes; providing a platform that collates the available ethical guidance; developing data ethics courses for public sector data scientists; establishing a data ethics community; increasing transparency in hiring and introducing extensive diversity measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity indicators summarise extensive, complex ecological data sets and are important in influencing government policy. Component data consist of time-varying indices for each of a number of different species. However, current biodiversity indicators suffer from multiple statistical shortcomings. We describe a state-space formulation for new multispecies biodiversity indicators, based on rates of change in the abundance or occupancy probability of the contributing individual species. The formulation is flexible and applicable to different taxa. It possesses several advantages, including the ability to accommodate the sporadic unavailability of data, incorporate variation in the estimation precision of the individual species' indices when appropriate, and allow the direct incorporation of smoothing over time. Furthermore, model fitting is straightforward in Bayesian and classical implementations, the latter adopting either efficient Hidden Markov modelling or the Kalman filter. Conveniently, the same algorithms can be adopted for cases based on abundance or occupancy data—only the subsequent interpretation differs. The procedure removes the need for bootstrapping which can be prohibitive. We recommend which of two alternatives to use when taxa are fully or partially sampled. The performance of the new approach is demonstrated on simulated data, and through application to three diverse national UK data sets on butterflies, bats and dragonflies. We see that uncritical incorporation of index standard errors should be avoided. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labour market activation policies aimed at those with multiple barriers to employment require inter-agency collaboration between local organizations providing social and employment services. This local collaborative context is shaped by different institutional logics (state, markets, professions and community) that are crucial for policy implementation. Using case studies of nine German, UK and Swedish cities, it is argued that different institutional logics help shape the form and operation of local collaboration between different agencies and actors and thus the concrete support for service users at the local level. Although all three countries are characterized by centralized employment policies, each city shows a prevalence, but not exclusivity, of certain institutional logics over others. These differences, partly reflecting the local context, are likely to lead to local variations in understandings of solidarity, policy implementation, inter-agency collaboration and networks of actors and national–local tensions. The paper suggests that an institutional logics approach provides a useful framework for helping to understand local variations and potential national–local policy conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decommissioning of a health‐care service is invariably a highly complex and contentious process which faces many implementation challenges. There has been little specific theorisation of this phenomena, although insights can be transferred from wider literatures on policy implementation and change processes. In this paper, we present findings from empirical case studies of three decommissioning processes initiated in the English National Health Service. We apply Levine's (1979, Public Administration Review, 39(2), 179–183) typology of decommissioning drivers and insights from the empirical literature on pluralistic health‐care contexts, complex change processes and institutional constraints. Data include interviews, non‐participant observation and documents analysis. Alongside familiar patterns of pluralism and political partisanship, our results suggest the important role played by institutional factors in determining the outcome of decommissioning processes and in particular the prior requirement of political vulnerability for services to be successfully closed. Factors linked to the extent of such vulnerability include the scale of the proposed changes and extent to which they are supported at the macrolevel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]