The Dramatic Shift of the Underlining Philosophy and Theoretical Concept Behind Adult Social Care Service Provisions in the United Kingdom

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The legislative frameworks developed in more than the last five decades in order to meet the objectives of the governing political party social policies have had produced a mixed result both on the social work practice and a range of adult service user groups. The enactment of NHS and Community Care Act 1990, hereafter referred as NHSCCA 1990, has dramatically shifted the underlining philosophy and theoretical concept behind adult social care service provisions in the United Kingdom (Brayne and Carr 2008: 438). This shift effectively brought in free-market concepts in the provision of adult social care services by making possible the provision of the service by private and voluntary providers. In other words, this concept renders all local authorities as enablers rather than direct services providers. However, it is important to mention here that this shift has not just suddenly come to existence with the introduction of this legal framework. As Brayne and Carr (2008) has eloquently noted ‘social service department already had a wide range of powers and duties, and were able to make direct provision of services, or arrange with voluntary or commercial providers to meet the needs of the vulnerable’(ibid).

The ratification of the NHSCCA was a culmination of a series of ongoing developments in social policy and legal frameworks in four distinctive phases: namely; (1) the Victorian Industrial Revolution phase; (2) the phase which commence during and in the post-war period and included the first two decades; (3) the period between 1970 and the coming to power of the Conservative Government led by the Margaret Thatcher as well as the period up to the election of the Labour Government in 1997 and (4) the period afterwards. During t...

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...mic policy the conservative government relied on in the introducing market principles in public service delivery. The core economic policy that welfare state

However, the 1970 economic recession brought about a new dimension in to the government’s spending power in to question. This effectively meant that the ambitious policy of welfare policy based on the principle of universalism became unsustainable. The central government, led by the Labour government, to absolve itself from direct public dissatisfactions, contemplated usher in a new legislation that will effectively delegate all powers and duties of provide adult social care to the local authority. This hidden agenda of the government resulted in the creation of the Local Authority Social Service Act of 1970. This act successfully entrusted on local authority the provision of adult social care services.

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