Social Policy Analysis

Social policies are policies which aim to improve social issues. A number of governments implement these policies, doing so by examining social problems thoroughly and then trying to come up with new ideas to improve them. The UK is thought by many to have a very respectable welfare system which provides its people with things such as healthcare and education. This essay is going to discuss two policy areas. The first area it will look into is disability policies such as The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 the Independent Living Fund and Disability Living Allowance the second will look at family policies such as the bedroom tax, child benefits, and abortions.

For decades now, disability organisations have been arguing the stance that it is people’s discriminatory attitudes which are the cause of such high levels of unemployment for disabled people. They have worked to challenge the view that disabled people simply cannot work. They did this through urging the government and the public to understand that it is not impairment which stops disabled people from working, but social and environmental barriers. For example Hoggett et al (2013) discussed one particular social barrier when they argued that there is a social attitude whereby some of the members of the society believe that a large number of the people claiming disability benefits are in fact just faking their disability or the extent of their disability in order to get benefits. These individuals believe that ‘hardworking’ people who do not claim benefits are being taken advantage of by people who are abusing the system. (Strathclyde Centre for Disability Studies 2012). This stigma of disabled people faking it is incredibly harmful as it encourages discrimina...

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... being disabled in terms of employment. Similarly, the Independent Living Fund helps disabled people to live an independent life and become active members of their community. Furtheremore The Disability Living Allowance could be argued to emancipate disabled people as it enables them to make decisions for themselves on how best to meet their needs.

In regards tp family polcicies, it couold be seen that policies such as the bedroom tax are oppressing people with low income and making matters even worse form them by forcing these regulations on them. In contrast, policies such as Child Benefits could be argued to emancipate people who are struggling with the addition costs of raising a child and to also help decrease child poverty. While regulations on abortions could be argued to oppress as they take away women’s right to control what happens to their own bodies.