Who are those at the bottom of society? There has been much discussion in recent years, on both Left and Right, about the existence of an alleged 'underclass' in both Britain and the USA. It has been claimed this group lives outside the mainstream of society, is characterised by crime, suffers from long-term unemployment and single parenthood, and is alienated from its core values. John Welshman shows that there have always been concerns about an 'underclass', whether constructed as the 'social residuum' of the 1880s, the 'problem family' of the 1950s or the 'cycle of deprivation' of the 1970s. There are marked differences between these concepts, but also striking continuities. Indeed a concern with an 'underclass' has in many ways existed as long as an interest in poverty itself. This book is the first to look systematically at the question, providing new insights into contemporary debates about behaviour, poverty and welfare reform. This new edition of the pioneering text has been updated throughout and includes brand new chapters on 'Problem Families' and New Labour as well as 'Troubled Families' and the Coalition Government. It is a seminal work for anyone interested in the social history of Britain and the Welfare State.

John Welshman's new book fills a major gap in social policy: the history of debates over 'transmitted deprivation', and their relationship with current initiatives on social exclusion. The book explores the content and background to Sir Keith Joseph's famous 'cycle of deprivation' speech in 1972, examining his own personality and family background, his concern with 'problem families', and the wider policy context of the early 1970s. Tracing the direction taken by the DHSS-SSRC Research Programme on Transmitted Deprivation, it seeks to understand why the Programme was set up, and why it took the direction it did. With this background, the book explores New Labour's approach to child poverty, initiatives such as Sure Start, the influence of research on inter-generational continuities, and its new stance on social exclusion. The author argues that, while earlier writers have acknowledged the intellectual debt that New Labour owes to Joseph, and noted similarities between current policy approaches to child poverty and earlier debates, the Government's most recent attempts to tackle social exclusion mean that these continuities are now more striking than ever before. Making extensive use of archival sources, private papers, contemporary published documents, and oral interviews with retired civil servants and social scientists, "Policy, Poverty and Parenting" is the only book-length treatment of this important but neglected strand of the history of social policy. It will be of interest to students and researchers working on contemporary history, social policy, political science, public policy, sociology, and public health.

The book explores the content and background to Sir Keith Joseph's famous 'cycle of deprivation' speech in 1972, examining his own personality and family background, his concern with 'problem families', and the wider policy context of the early 1970s. With this background, the book explores New Labour's approach to child poverty, initiatives such as Sure Start, the influence of research on inter-generational continuities, and its stance on social exclusion. The author argues that, while earlier writers have acknowledged the intellectual debt that New Labour owed to Joseph, and noted similarities between their policy approaches to child poverty and earlier debates, more recent attempts to tackle social exclusion, by both the Labour and Coalition Governments, mean that these continuities are now more striking than ever before.With a new Preface for the paperback edition, From transmitted deprivation to social exclusion is the only book-length treatment of this important but neglected strand of the history of social policy. It will be of interest to students and researchers working on contemporary history, social policy, political science, public policy, sociology, and public health.

Who are those at the bottom of society? There has been much discussion in recent years, on both Left and Right, about the existence of an alleged 'underclass' in both Britain and the USA. It has been claimed this group lives outside the mainstream of society, is characterised by crime, suffers from long-term unemployment and single parenthood, and is alienated from its core values. John Welshman shows that there have always been concerns about an 'underclass', whether constructed as the 'social residuum' of the 1880s, the 'problem family' of the 1950s or the 'cycle of deprivation' of the 1970s. There are marked differences between these concepts, but also striking continuities. Indeed a concern with an 'underclass' has in many ways existed as long as an interest in poverty itself. This book is the first to look systematically at the question, providing new insights into contemporary debates about behaviour, poverty and welfare reform. This new edition of the pioneering text has been updated throughout and includes brand new chapters on 'Problem Families' and New Labour as well as 'Troubled Families' and the Coalition Government. It is a seminal work for anyone interested in the social history of Britain and the Welfare State.

Who are those at the bottom of society? There has been much discussion in recent years, on both Left and Right, about the existence of an alleged 'underclass' in both Britain and the USA. It has been claimed this group lives outside the mainstream of society, is characterised by crime, suffers from long-term unemployment and single parenthood, and is alienated from its core values. In "Underclass: A History of the Excluded, 1880-2000", John Welshman shows that there have always been concerns about an 'underclass', whether constructed as the 'social residuum' of the 1880s, the 'problem family' of the 1950s or the 'cycle of deprivation' of the 1970s. There are marked differences between these concepts, but also striking continuities. Indeed a concern with an 'underclass' has is many ways been as long as an interest in poverty itself. This book is the first to look systematically at the question, providing new insights on contemporary debates about behaviour, poverty and welfare reform. In a speech in 2006, Tony Blair signalled a major push on social exclusion. He aimed to show the Government's determination to tackle 'a hard core underclass' estimated at 1 m people. The focus in Whitehall had moved to what were termed 'high-risk, high-harm and high-cost families', and to children in care, teenage mothers, and people with mental health problems on benefit. In all of this, the rhetoric of a 'cycle of deprivation', and of inter-generational continuities, was ever-present, and it is those continuities that this book seeks to explore.

Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt/M., New York, Wien. Studies in the History of Medicine. Vol. 1 General Editor: Charles Webster. This book provides the most comprehensive study yet produced of public health in twentieth-century Britain. Based in part on a case-study of the East Midlands city of Leicester, it explores the history of public health from the early 1900s to the health service reorganisation of 1974. The author examines the economic, political, and social context for health provision in Leicester, and the ideological background to policy in such areas as mental health and slum clearance. Particular attention is paid to the infectious disease of tuberculosis, and to the provision of services for schoolchildren through the School Health Service. This study further explores public health policy under the National Health Service, and looks at the wider relationships of the local authority - with general practice, hospitals and hospital boards, and central government departments. Public health in twentieth-century Britain has until now been comparatively neglected by historians of health care and social policy. This book remedies that neglect, and opens up numerous unexplored areas for further investigation. Contents: Economic, political and social context of public health provision in Leicester - Ideological background to public health - menthal health, birth control, slum clearance - Tuberculosis - School Health Service - Public health and the National Health Service - Wider relationships - general practice, hospitals, central government departments - Conclusion - Bibliography.