The Social and Economic Welfare of the Disadvantaged Citizens - Research Paper Example

Introduction Social welfare is a concept of government whereby the state plays a critical role in promotion and protection of the social and economic welfare of the citizens (White & Harris, 2009 p. 2). It is based on the principle of ensuring all citizens live a reasonable quality of life through ensuring equality of opportunities and fair distribution of resources to all the citizens. The United Kingdom has an outstanding history of well state-funded welfare system. The United Kingdom is a modern social welfare state that dates back to the emergence of Liberal Welfare reforms of 1906 to 1914 under the authority of Minister Herbert Asquith who had liberal views on the future of United Kingdom society. Some of the notable developments include the enactment of Old-Age Pensions Act of 1908, the Labour Exchange Act of 1909 and also the Free School Meal in 1909. These developments led to more intervention of the government on economic development and social assistance in the society. Initially, social services were administered through the Poor Law that had been passed in 1598 and also the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. The Poor law mainly provided for the creation of overseas relief, provisions of creating employment for the poor and also compulsory poor rate. Poor laws attracted much hatred among the citizens thus leading to the development of means of test and also national insurance in later years (Parrish, 2010 p. 20). The reformation of government by Lloyd George set the impetus for the development of the welfare state that led to Beveridge Report in 1941. The idea was to develop social security for the surviving soldiers after the Second World War. The impetus led to the initial legislation of social welfare and the start of National Insurance. In 1948, the NHS was created to provide free health care services to all needy citizens. The origin of the post-Second World War social welfare is based on the experiences of the need of secure working class, healthy population and reasonably educated population (Dominelli, 2009 p.9). The Beveridge Plan and policies that were developed during the War led to the establishment of a social security and national health insurance scheme, National Health Service and a secondary school system. The Welfarist ideology prevailed after the post Second War in the 1950s and 1960s. This was viewed as a paternalist approach since the government provided most of the social services. The main ideas were that the state was capable of meeting the needs of the citizens and well qualified social workers could also identify the needs of the population (Nigel, 2009 p. 200). The social policy was driven by new liberal ideologies that criticized excessive capitalism. The new liberal ideology criticized the unemployment, and inefficiency in the utilization of national resources. However, Beveridge report on the need of social welfare was heavily criticized since it ignored the role of women in social development. The post-war social welfare schemes such as income support, national assistance and other schemes disadvantaged the women since it ignored individuals as the benefit claimants. The Beveridge Report was based on three major principles of social welfare that include the need of full employment, family allowances and a national health service. Some notable legislation that facilitated the UK welfare state after the Second World War include the Education Act of 1944, the National insurance Act of 1946. Social work ideologies Another social ideology that influenced the current social work in UK is Marxism left ideology of 1950 that sought to understand the effect of capitalism on the society. According to this ideology, ill-health undermines the economic production of the population (Dominelli, 2009 p.9). Other later ideologies and movements that shaped the current social work include feminism of the 1960s and similar movements like ethnicity, disability and environmental awareness movements. Feminism advocated for the social assistance to women and children through family entitlements like allowances. The next ideology of social welfare was the professional ideology that focused on the management of social services. There was increased training on social welfare provision and an identity for social work. The next ideology of welfare was consumerism since the clients of social welfare were in a position to select the services to be consumed rather than judgment of the social workers (Parris, 2012 p. 70). There was less hierarchy in client-worker relationship, but bias made several social workers select the services on behalf of clients (Stuart, 2011 p. 72). The consumer had several channels of reporting on poor quality of social services. After some years, social work ideology changed to managerialist position since more emphasis was placed on the costs of serving the clients and also budgets. This ideology removed the social services from the social workers and allowed the market to determine the price of service provision. The next welfare ideology was participation ideology that allowed users to be more empowered and participate in the planning and policy formulation (Paul, 2008 p.20). The emphasis was on local community based social services that allowed the users and social workers to partner in improving the quality of life of the users or solving social problems. This is still the current ideology of welfare since the power balance has been reduced in the client-worker relationships and the right of self-determination ensured in the delivery of social services. However, some social worker scholars have advocated for the establishment of an inclusive approach that benefits both clients and social workers. This emerging ideology can be referred to as the constructive social work whereby social workers remain true to their values and commitments in serving the clients (Cree, 2003 p. 46). In 1999, Mrs Thatcher’s government passed the NHS and Community Care In 2001 that paved way for the reformation of standards of health care. The British government introduced the ‘Intermediate care’ for older people who are at risk of returning to hospitals. From 2003, many parents in Britain can access tax credits in term of Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit in case of low income households (Steven, 2005). The main reasons of social welfare in UK include relief of poverty in the society, social protection through cushioning the citizens from economic hardships, poor healthy, and unemployment. Another reason for social assistance is to attain redistribution of income and wealth in the economy through supporting the low income citizens and showing solidarity in the society (Weinstein, Whittington & Leiba, 2003 p. 10). Role of social work and social workers in UK today There are different models of social work that can be used in demonstrating the role of social work and social workers in the UK today. The models include therapeutic model, transformational model and social order. Successive definitions have added other roles such as agent of social control and counselors of the vulnerable communities. Social workers assist individuals live a successful live in the communities through helping them find solutions to emerging problems. Social work in the UK today involves engaging with individuals and also closely with relevant organisations such as the police departments, schools and probation department. Social workers play different role in the UK. For instance, they are expected to act as care managers, agents of social control, assessors of needs and counselors in the community. The role of social workers in the UK has been affected by modern changes in the social environment such as democratic changes, internationalization of the social problems and changes in communication technologies. Accordingly, the social welfare policy has also evolved from the postwar years in succession from welfarism ideology, professionalism ideology, consumerism, managerialism to participationism. Organizational changes such as increasing expectation of cordial relationships among various professionals involved in social services and exercise of collaboration has also altered the policy making. According to Kilbrandon report, the central principle of the role of social work in UK should be prevention of families and children at risk. The focus of prevention is the underpinning factor in the development of social work in Scotland. However, the modern focus of social work has been constructive in nature. Currently, social work in the UK entails working with community face to face (Adams, 2010 p. 43). A number of underlying principles, values and the nature of social work have been outlined in the understanding the role of social work. Some work in UK is involved in problem solving, and the value system of social work is based on the civil and human rights of individuals. Additionally, social work in the UK focuses on the whole life of an individual including his social support network. Social workers work with individuals, families, specific interest groups and communities thus interpersonal relationships are necessary in executing their roles. The general objective of social work is to enahnce the opportunities and chances of a better life in the society through enabling individuals build on their strength, experiences and expertise thus maximizing individual capacities. Social workers develop the ability of an individual to establish positive relationships with family and social network such as the surrounding community (Steven, 2005 p. 33). Social workers offer alternative forms of social support that aim at protecting the human dignity, rights and aspirations in the exercise of individual rights and obligations. Additionally, social workers play an advocacy role in highlighting the changing trends in human rights protection and the social security of individuals. Social workers are expected to maintain confidentiality and ensure that private information is not accessed by third parties without the consent of the clients. The workers are expected to explain the confidentiality requirement to the client and also explain any ethical dilemma about the confidentiality of such private information to clients (Steven, 2005 p. 107). According to the systems theory, one of the core purposes of social work is to understanding the dynamics between an individual and the social environment. This can be said as the most influential component of social work in the mid 1970s. According to ecological theory, the structural characteristics of families affect individual behaviours thus social work will play an important role in assessing the individual behaviour change in the social context. Social workers in the UK contribute and champion the development of positive procedures, policies and practices that empower the citizens and minimize oppression in the society. In executing this mandate, social workers give utmost respect to the values, beliefs, preferences and relationships of the clients. The social workers are required to challenge the prejudices of the colleagues or any acts that may lead to discrimination in service delivery (Beckett, 2006 p. 100). Social work in the UK today is geared at attaining social justice. With globalisation and internationalization of the role of social work, social workers are committed at ensuring that global problems like hunger and climate change are eliminated. Social work ensures that international conventions such as UN Convention on Children rights and Human rights Act of 1998 are adhered to by the private sector and public institutions. In meeting this objective, social work promotes problem solving in human relations and social change through empowerment of the individuals. Ensuring social justice and respect for human rights is a fundamentals role of social work in the UK. Social work in the UK plays a therapeutic role in delivering child care services. Education, training and counseling programs assist the communities at risk of many social problems like diseases and poor nutrition. In this regard, social workers are expected to be prepared at all times to act as whistleblowers through any available channel including complaints and if necessary utilize the pubic interest disclosure legislation as the whistle blowing guideline (Mattehews, Cormick & Morgan, 2010 p. 86). Social workers in the UK act as counselors. Social work is associated with the inherent worth of individuals thus helping and supporting the disadvantaged individuals is a key component of social work in the UK today. Counseling is a main role of social work that is provided through ensuring behaviour change and provision of public services. Social workers in the UK also act as advocates of the rights of the socially excluded individuals. The advocacy role is demonstrated through highlighting the needs of communities and assisting families to make their own wishes on their needs and aspirations in the society (Wilks, 2012 p. 56). Social workers in the UK also work as partners in working for the minority or disempowered individuals and communities in UK. Maintaining close working relationships and supporting client groups is key to modern social work in the UK. Social workers play the role of assessing the needs or risk attached to certain communities or groups in society. The surveillance role enables social work institutions such as charity organisations and government agencies plan for future emergencies and needs of the population. For instance, the assessment of needs while enable the government health agencies prepare for future medical needs of the elderly or medical needs of the populations that are at risk of contacting life threatening diseases such as commercial sex workers. In UK economy, social workers act as care managers by arranging the social services with other institutions for the benefit of their clients. Social workers are expected to act as agents of social control through eliminating the social and economic inequalities in the society. The social workers have a role to play in maintaining the social system through ensuring that the communities exist cohesively and problematic behaviour is minimized (Higham, 2006 p. 36). According to British Association of Social Workers, social workers in the UK have the responsibility of promoting the ethical values of the profession. All social workers should commit themselves to ethical principles and provide quality services to clients. Some of the ethical problems associated with social workers include conflicts of interest, and competing rights. Social workers should aim at addressing the injustice and inequalities that exist in modern day society. Social work interventions such as counseling, group work, family therapy and social policy development should aim at help ensure individuals have access resources and services in their communities (Higham, 2006 p. 26). Some of the main roles of social workers are to uphold the human dignity including the physical, spiritual and integrity of the clients. Social workers should ensure the rights of individuals to make a decision that affect their well-being. Social workers are expected to eliminate discriminatory practices and safeguard the right of individuals to self-determination. Social workers are expected to recognize and appreciate diversity issues such as cultural and religious diversity in their work. It is the duty of social workers to distribute resources fairly in the communities and challenge the discriminatory practices such culture, gender, race, marital status and age discrimination (Lfe, 2001 p. 50). Social workers in the UK are expected to respect the professional boundaries in their relationships with clients and also adhere to the virtues of integrity and honesty in service delivery. The workers should also make impartial judgments based on balanced reasoning in order to avoid instances of conflicts of interest in their practice. Social workers in the UK have the responsibility for the education and training of their colleagues through sharing of knowledge and professional practice with students. The social workers contribute to quality social work practice through the provision of placements and ensuring the students are aware of the ethical requirements of social workers (Higham, 2006 p. 51). Social workers also contribute to the professional knowledge development through quality research on emerging issues on social work practices. In this regard, social workers are expected to strive for objective self-awareness in professional practice and also take personal responsibility for their own continuing professional development (Hothersall & Bolger, 2010 p. 312). Conclusion Social welfare refers to the spending by the government towards the improvement of the social and economic welfare of the disadvantaged citizens. Main areas of social welfare include the social protection benefits, health services, personal social services, education and provision of housing services. Social expenditure is any spending by both private and public institutions for the benefit of households. Some of the benefits include childcare benefit, medical care, tax reductions, maternity benefits and social services to the elderly and people with disabilities. The role of social work in the UK is to protect the working poor, to ensure the protection of core human rights and foster the empowerment of communities. Beveridge social scheme provided universal pension to the poor and most of the beneficiaries were the elderly.. Social work ideology has moved from welfarist approach to the current participative ideology. Social workers are expected to improve the lifestyles of the disadvantaged population, promote the dignity of human beings and respect the confidentiality of clients in service delivery. Social workers in the UK today act as agents of control, acts of social change and social inclusion. Reference list: Adams, R. (2010). The short guide to social work. Bristol: Policy. Beckett, C. (2006). Essential theory for social work practice. London: Sage publications. Cree, V.E. (2003). Becoming a social worker. London. Routledge. Dominelli, L. (2009). Introducing social work. Cambridge: Polity. Higham, P. (2006). Social work: introducing professional practice. London. Sage Publications. Hothersall, S.J & Bolger, J. (2010). 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