Monitoring Poverty And Social Exclusion In Scotland 2008

The series of reports, Monitoring poverty and social exclusion, produced annually since 1998 by the New Policy Institute and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has had a major impact on the debate about poverty and social exclusion in Britain, improving public understanding and holding government accountable for progress. Ever since the first report, however, there have been discussions about the need for a more Scottish-specific analysis, partly in response to a widespread view that some of the issues are somewhat different in Scotland (for example, in health and education) and partly reflecting the observation that much of the debate in Scotland takes place in a Scottish-specific context.

An independent assessment of the progress being made in eliminating poverty and reducing social exclusion in Britain. The report is built around a set of indicators organised into chapters. These chapters focus on areas such as low income, work, qualifications, health, housing and exclusion. The report provides a comparison of the last five years' progress with the previous five years. The analysis covers a range of issues, including;

Since devolution in 1999, social policy within Scotland has burgeoned. The Scottish Parliament has a range of powers in relation to key policy areas including social work, education, health, child care, child protection, law and home affairs, and housing. These powers and the existence of a distinct legal tradition in Scotland means that social work practice has developed a distinctive style, attuned to the particular needs of Scotland. Scottish distinctiveness however, has rarely been properly represented in textbooks on either social policy or social work. This innovative text offers comprehensive coverage of the discipline of social policy and its central relevance to social work, social care and related practice in Scotland. Designed to complement teaching and study associated with the new Honours degree in Social Work (Scottish Executive 2003), it fills a notable gap in the literature on this subject and will be essential reading for students, professionals and academics within a variety of health and social care occupations.

The first and second editions of this report, Monitoring poverty and social exclusion: Labour's inheritance (1998) and Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 1999, attracted widespread coverage and set out a base line against which the Labour Government's progress on tackling poverty and social exclusion can be measured.

Social justice and social policy in Scotland offers a critical engagement with the state of social policy in one of the devolved nations of the UK, a decade after the introduction of devolution. Promoting greater social justice has been held up as a key vision of successive Scottish administrations since devolution began. It is argued throughout this important book that the analysis of Scottish social policy must therefore be located in wider debates around social injustice as well as about how the devolution process affects the making, implementation and impact of social policy. Social justice and social policy in Scotland focuses on a diverse range of topics and issues, including income inequalities, work and welfare, criminal justice, housing, education, health and poverty, each reflecting the themes of social inequality and social justice. This book will be essential reading for academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners as well as students of social policy and of society in Scotland and other devolved nations.