Policy & Practice
Policy Press publishes policy review and polemic books that aim to challenge policy for, or thinking about, a certain field of policy or practice as well as books aimed at a practice audience. These books are written in an accessible style whilst being academically sound and appropriately referenced.
'It pays dividends'
Direct payments and older people
Drawing on interviews with older people, local authority care managers and direct payments support service workers, this topical report looks at how older people use direct payments and how they make them work.
Making a difference?
Exploring the impact of multi-agency working on disabled children with complex health care needs, their families and the professionals who support them
Many health, education and social service initiatives aim to implement better multi-agency working between agencies and professionals. But what difference does this sort of change make to those on the receiving end? This book explores the impact of multi-agency working on disabled children and the families and professionals who support them.
Supporting families
The financial costs and benefits of children since 1975
Drawing on a large-scale 28-year survey, this report analyses entitlements to child-contingent taxes and benefits for thousands of households. It examines how support has varied across households and over time, separates the impact of policy from socio-economic changes and compares government support for children with estimates of the actual costs.
Attitudes to flexible working and family life
This report is the first to examine attitudes towards flexible working and family life. Drawing on a study of over 1500 members of the AEEU and interviews with 53 shop stewards, the report addresses key questions around rights and benefits, employer's attitudes, gender differences and the effects of flexible working on health and well-being.
Riding the roller coaster
Family life and self-employment
This report takes a critical look at the costs and benefits for individuals and families of turning to self-employment as a route out of economic disadvantage.
Developing coalfields communities
Breathing new life into Warsop Vale
In 1998, following a sobering report by the Coalfields Task Force, New Labour unveiled a £350 million package of measures to remedy coalfield deprivation and social exclusion. This book examines the impact of this investment in Warsop Vale, a village which has starkly emphasised the negative consequences of coalfield decline.
Money, choice and control
The financial circumstances of early retirement
This report looks at the role of finances in decisions about early moves out of work. Drawing on in-depth interviews with people who make an early retirement, it makes a distinctive contribution to understanding their experiences, looking at the importance of money alongside other influences, including health and domestic circumstances.
Crossroads after 50
Improving choices in work and retirement
This report draws together the findings from 12 individual Joseph Rowntree Foundation research projects, published in the Transitions after 50 series.
Developing locally
An international comparison of local and regional economic development
Throughout the developed world governments have invested substantial sums in local and regional economic development. This is the first book to provide a cross-national comparison and evaluation of regional development strategies, institutions and agencies.
Poverty Street
The dynamics of neighbourhood decline and renewal
Poverty street addresses one of the UK's major social policy concerns: the gap between the poorest neighbourhoods and the rest of the country. It is an account of neighbourhood decline, a portrait of conditions in the most disadvantaged areas and an up-to-date analysis of the impact of the government's neighbourhood renewal policies.
Organisations, careers and caring
With the increase in mothers' employment both the government and many employers are promoting flexible working policies to improve work-life 'balance'. This report considers the effects of these changes on the lives of both women and men. It examines three employment sectors in detail - banking, grocery retail and local authorities.
Urban transformation and urban governance
Shaping the competitive city of the future
Combining a detailed case study of the city of Bristol with wide-ranging information and analysis from other sources, this report addresses key challenges facing policy makers, practitioners and academics in their efforts to understand and impact on the changing nature of urban environments today.