Welfare Reform on the Web (December 2003): Social Care - UK

THE CASE FOR REGISTRATION

S Masters

Professional Social Work, Nov. 2003, p18-19

Compares the role of the Health Professions Council with the UK councils registering social workers, and talks to an occupational therapist about registration and belonging to a professional association

FULLY ENGAGED

P Beresford

Community Care, Nov. 13th - 19th 2003, p.38-41

Presents service users' views of their involvement in social work training, provision of services for people with hearing difficulties, planning of mental health services for minority ethnic groups, and empirical research projects.

JOINT PLANNING ACROSS THE HEALTH/SOCIAL SERVICES BOUNDARY SINCE 1946

P. Bridgen

Local Government Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3, Autumn 2003, p. 17-31

The article reviews the attempts that have been made to merge health and social services since the end of the Second World War. It begins by examining the boundary that emerged between the two with the establishment of the NHS in 1946, before summarising the various stages of joint planning initiatives from 1960 to the present day. The report concludes that although progress has been made it has been very slow and there is little hope that future developments will prove any quicker.

JOINT WORKING: THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENDA

S. Snape

Local Government Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3, Autumn 2003, p. 73-98

Interest in local governments' role in health has increased dramatically since the Government's White Paper for health was published in 1997. Organisations such as the Health Development Agency and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives have been urging local authorities to champion the social model of health by promoting health improvement and tackling health inequalities. A number of policy documents promoting partnership between health and local government have also been published. The article examines whether local authorities have responded to these challenges using a desk-based review which encompasses models of health, a broader role for councils, the impact of changes to the health-social care boundary and the emergence of area based initiatives. It concludes that the social care boundary is still in place, and that although some progress has been made the changes are peripheral rather than radical. Several reasons are cited for this, including the local government and NHS performance management systems, which reaffirm the social care boundary. The author also questions local government's ability to "think outside the box" after thirty years of central government control.

PLATT SETS OUT CSCI AGENDA

Anon

Registered Homes and Services, vol. 8, 2003, p90

Reports a speech by Denise Platt, shadow chair of the new Commission for Social Care Inspection, on how that body will operate.

SEEING STARS

G. Burrows

Guardian Society, November 12th 2003, p.10

When social services star ratings were last published in May 2002, 10 departments failed to achieve a single star in the government's performance tables. On the eve of the latest social service ratings, the author asks: do they work?

SOCIAL WORK GUINEA PIGS

S. Masters

Professional Social Work Nov. 2003, p12-13

Presents view of four students taking the new degree in social work at Leeds University on the course.