All Our Welfare: Towards Participatory Social Policy - Hardcover

Beresford, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1447328930 ISBN 13: 9781447328933

Publisher: Policy Press, 2016

Synopsis

The UK welfare state is under sustained ideological and political attack. In All Our Welfare, Peter Beresford explores the establishment and trajectory of the postwar welfare state and offers a blueprint for participatory social policy in the future. By showing that early welfare policies resulted from popular revulsion against the inequity of the market and associated poor laws, Beresford reveals that the welfare state was ultimately undermined by its failure to engage the people it was intended to help. Noting the subsequent similar failure of neoliberal social policy to engage people in improving their own welfare, Beresford draws on the pioneering theories and practices of current welfare service user movements to outline participatory approaches to social policy theory, knowledge development, policy, practice, and support, identifying a series of principles that could underpin them and offering inclusive models for sustainable change. Also including fascinating vignettes from his own family’s experience, Beresford demonstrates the value of user knowledge.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Beresford, OBE, is professor of social policy and director of the Centre for Citizen Participation at Brunel University London. He is coauthor of Supporting People: Towards a Person-Centred Approach and the editor of Personalisation, both published by Policy Press.

Review

“This book does not duck the complexities of the history of the welfare state and its current forms. It interleaves formal analyses with personal testimony to great effect. A wonderful trip down memory lane for me! Beresford’s proposed alternative—where those receiving the range of collective services are final arbiters over the forms they take—is well researched and refreshing.” (Diana Rose, King’s College London Times Higher Education)

“Beresford details how the current welfare system has been subject to ‘sustained ideological and political attack.’ The present direction of travel, he argues, is especially disconcerting and here he challenges conventional wisdom and in turn subjects the dominant narrative to critical inquiry. He puts forward a very convincing alternative, based on democracy and service-user participation.” (Sean Creaney, PhD candidate in criminology at Liverpool John Moores University Times Higher Education)

“All Our Welfare is a thought-provoking book that offers a timely challenge to much contemporary academic social policy. . . . It is enriched by the author’s personal experience.” (Ashwin Desai, NBC Universal LSE Review of Books)

“An illuminating, enjoyable, and encouraging read which is highly recommended.” (Bernadette Meaden Ekklesia)

“This book is a rollicking good read! All Our Welfare by Beresford is accessible and engaging not only because it comes from deep personal and professional perspectives backed up by evidence, but also because it’s been written from the heart.” (Waterstones)

"This book has already established itself in contributing not only to how we think about social policy, but to how we think about our relationships with users and therefore the constructs we develop to humanize our services." (Change Agents blog)

"Beresford's book has the character of its message: participation. The ubiquity of personal experience makes it a really engaging book to read." (Citizen's Income Trust)

"All Our Welfare provides an astute and important critique of British social policy as a discipline, as well as acting as a manifesto for changes in it." (Critical Policy Studies)

"Beresford’s book makes an integral contribution towards reconceiving the welfare of citizens, rather than social policy for citizens." (Critical and Radical Social Work)

“An interesting introductory history of UK welfare policies and a particularly useful resource for understanding the principles and practices of social policy service user movements.” (Ethics and Social Welfare)

About this edition

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1447328930
• ISBN 13: 9781447328933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 468