Gill Scott

Poverty and social justice in the devolved Scotland: Neoliberalism meets social democracy

Drawing on current debates in social policy, this paper considers the extent to which social justice has and is informing social policy making in devolved Scotland. Relating to the work of social justice theorists Young, Fraser and Lister in particular, it critically examines some key Scottish social policy measures since 1999, considering some of the ways in which these have been constructed in terms of social justice and which make claims to the Scottish national. Through a focus on the issue of anti-poverty policies, the paper explores the ways in which the dominant policy approaches of the Scottish Government have reflected an uneven and tension-loaded balance between the enduring legacies of Scottish social democracy and the influences of neoliberal economics.

Dismissing Disaffection: Young People's Attitudes Towards Education, Employment and Participation in a Deprived Community

This article examines whether young people in a deprived area are disaffected with education, training and employment, or disengaged from participation in their community. It draws upon evidence from the Drumchapel Aspirations Survey, a study of the attitudes, aspirations and skills of young people from one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow. The study involved a survey of young people in two secondary schools in the Drumchapel area, and focus groups with recent school-leavers. The research explored young peoples outlooks at a critical life-stage transition: their levels of social participation, existing skills, future employment and training ambitions, and their understandings of the processes involved in the transition to employment. These data are analysed to examine whether there is evidence of any rejection of mainstream values or an oppositional culture among young people in this deprived community or among any sub-groups within it. The Drumchapel Aspirations Survey study demonstrates that there is no evidence that young people in Drumchapel are disaffected or disengaged; however, indications of skills and aspiration gaps between different types of young people merit further attention and action.

Introduction: Rethinking social policy through devolution

This paper argues both that devolution is central to our understanding of developments in social policy in the contemporary UK and that social policy is a key means through which we can develop a critical understanding of the process of devolution itself. Much of the devolved powers available to the governments in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff centre on social policy innovation and practice. Devolution was widely welcomed as opening up the potential for the development of radically different social policies. However, the discussion of devolution has been largely dominated by an approach that focuses on institutional and/or organizational differences marginalizing, in the process, the wider social relations of welfare around which social policy is organized. In bringing the study of devolution into the heartland of social policy analysis, it is argued that we can begin to develop a more critically informed appreciation of social policy across the entire devolved UK. Through critical social policy analysis we can both evaluate and explain the complex interrelations between devolved governance and the continuing reproduction of inequalities and social divisions throughout the UK.

Child-care: the changing boundaries of family, economy and state

The purpose of this article is to outline and analyse the policies and prac tices that are now being developed throughout the UK in the area of child-care related to work. A growing recognition of the role of child care in economic development by employers and economic regeneration agencies is identified and an evaluation attempted of the extent to which these represent significant shifts in the boundaries between state, family and market. The article also attempts to examine the impact of work- related child-care and family-friendly policies on womens economic independence and directs attention towards the very different experience for high and low paid workers, before highlighting alternative strategies which could produce clearer labour market rewards for all women and their families.

Devolution, social democratic visions and policy reality in Scotland

The Scottish National Party’s election win in 2011 produced the first overall majority for any party since the Scottish Parliament’s inception in 1999, despite the proportional representation system that was supposed to prevent single party governments. This historic election has been followed by much discussion of how much further the powers of the Scottish Parliament could be extended and whether devolution would allow Scotland to have a superior welfare settlement. In this context policy divergence has been the major focus of the developing devolution debate but discussions about greater powers or even independence for the Parliament have increased significantly. They are often presented as a means to achieve a ‘better’ or more ‘fair’ society. This article argues that shortcomings in the steps towards fairness achieved under the current arrangements of devolution highlight the need for a far-reaching and innovative approach to social justice to be carried out alongside any further discussions of independence. Such an approach cannot be taken for granted.

Child care, social inclusion and urban regeneration

This article examines the background to and the implications of the adoption of child care as part of national and local social inclusion policies in the UK. It suggests that while the incorporation of child care into urban regeneration strategy holds the potential to reduce the barriers to labour market involvement by mothers in low-income households, less positive effects are also identifiable. Interim findings are used to illustrate that the commodification of care within economic regeneration policies establishes care work as low-paid, insecure employment. It concludes by arguing that a more critical evaluation of both the social and economic aspects of child care in area regeneration and social inclusion policies is needed.

Failing young people? Education and aspirations in a deprived community

Recent UK government statements and education policies have emphasized the need to instil a ‘culture of aspiration’ among young people in deprived communities to address social exclusion. Specific proposals include raising the school leaving age to 18 and extending compulsory employment training.These statements and measures express the employment-oriented model of citizenship that underpins New Labour’s approach to social justice. This article reflects on this approach by discussing survey evidence that explored the attitudes towards education and employment among young people in a deprived community in Glasgow. These data show that the majority of these young people were ambitious regarding their post-school career paths and optimistic about their employment prospects. Emphasizing the alleged low aspirations of young people in deprived communities fails to address the socio-economic conditions and opportunities that limit educational attainment and inhibit their accomplishment of full citizenship.

The 2014 Scottish independence debate: questions of social welfare and social justice

This paper aims to foreground some of the main ways in which issues of social welfare and social policy came to occupy centre stage in the Scottish independence debate during recent years, culminating in the September 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It considers how issues relating to social welfare and the future of the welfare state more generally were advanced by the pro-Scottish independence YES camp as key arguments in the overall case for independence. This then disputes suggestions to the contrary that the pro-YES movement was a campaign driven primarily by issues of Scottish nationalism and national identity. Instead issues of social welfare, social justice and the creation of a more equal Scotland dominated.

Active labour market policy and the reduction of poverty in the ‘new’ Scotland

Throughout Europe there is a view that social policy objectives can and should be achieved via the route of increased work participation. This is often fuelled by government assumptions that simultaneous progress on the employment and poverty front can be achieved. Employment activation and poverty reduction are central to the so-called active welfare state that lies at the heart of New Labour policies. In this article the relationship between devolution (another of New Labours central policies) and active labour market policies is analysed. In particular a discussion of the decentralization of powers relating to employment is undertaken alongside an assessment of whether the ‘social policy’ focus of the devolved Scotland results in an effective integration of employment and poverty reduction policies.

Scottish criminal justice: Devolution, divergence and distinctiveness

It has been claimed that paradoxically, following the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Scottish criminal justice policy, hitherto more liberal and less punitive than ‘south of the Border’, became more closely aligned with London-based policies. It has also been argued that the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Scottish government has, since gaining power in 2007, reversed that trend in a process of ‘retartanization’. Closer examination reveals a far more complex picture. Based on interviews with key players and observers, this article suggests that there is room for a more nuanced understanding of policy, policy shifts and reform in the years leading up to and following 1999. The Scottish example raises important questions about the impact of new legislative and executive institutions, the respective influences of civil servants, special advisers, politicians, local government, media, public opinion and individual personalities on criminal justice policy, particularly in a small jurisdiction. It also raises questions about the relative importance of local, national, territorial and global influences on criminal justice policy of relevance to other devolved nations.