By Rose Smith, Roger Grimshaw, Renee Romeo and Martin Knapp. The families of low earners who receive prison sentences are affected disproportionately compared to higher earning income groups. The authors explored the impact on low income families and found mainstream policies such as the New Deal for Lone Parents result in a perverse effect. They identify the issues that need to be addressed to protect the hidden and innocent victims of imprisonment, particularly the welfare of children.

By Marilyn Taylor, Mandy Wilson, Derrick Purdue and Pete Wilde. Many new policies to close the gap between the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the rest of society have been launched in the last ten years. In 2002 the Joseph Rowntree Foundation launched its Neighbourhood Programme to support community groups and organisations in 20 neighbourhoods. The authors distil the learning from programme for local councils, their partners, community organisations and for government at national and regional level.

By Nigel Pressnell. Schools have invested heavily in IT equipment and infrastructure and this has brought a new challenge of managing the assets, many of which are portable. Asset management includes a number of tasks such as renewing software licences. The author describes how an IT solution has delivered effective asset management including alerts to the use of alien software.

By Nick Bailey and Mark Livingston. Regeneration of deprived areas is a major challenge and there is a constant search for new evidence on which to base policies. The authors challenge some of the assumptions made about population turnover and their conclusions have a significant impact on local regeneration programmes. They show that there is a potential risk that policies designed to promote income or tenure mix may inadvertently exacerbate problems of population turnover if they target single people or couples through the development of starter homes.

By Richard Berthoud Workless households in Britain have doubled since 1974, but in the same period some two million more people have joined the labour market. The author examines the argument that the rise in workless households is more about social change than economics and is in effect an indirect exchange of jobs. He explores the re-distribution of jobs between men and women and the role that social disadvantage plays.

By Will Werry The blame culture has taken firm hold in the public sector, despite being universally denounced, even by ministers. Incessant fault-finding continues to be widely enjoyed. Images of organizations and even of whole slices of the public sector such as local government, can be tarnished by trivial isolated failures such as an unreliable wheelie bin. The author calls for realism about the sort of long term performance that can be expected from real people in the real world. This article was first published in Public Management and Policy and is reproduced by permission of the Association. http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pmpa/index.cfm

Technology now allows people living at home with a chronic disease to monitor their condition by measuring vital signs such as heart rate, weight, blood pressure and oxygen levels. Systems also give instant access to specialist help. The feature describes a pioneering development by Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust in the use of telecare and the benefits it brought to patients and the Trust.

By Fran Branfield and Peter Beresford with Eamon J. Andrews, Patricia Chambers, Patsy Staddon, Grace Wise and Bob Williams-Findlay. There is an increasing emphasis on user involvement in health and social care policy and practice. Users of services are experts in their own experience. But service providers and researchers have begun to ask what evidence there is that it improves services. The authors present the views of users and suggest ways in which user involvement could be more effective.

Given that 90% of the UK’s population lives on 10% of the land, it is extremely easy to forget that this is still a very rural country. However, there are many regions where remote living and the associated hazards of extreme weather conditions are a fact of ordinary life. In such areas, the need to deal with emergency situations occurs frequently and involves types of response that are seldom required in the more temperate heartlands of the country. 

By Richard Randall. Change can always be a little uncomfortable, even when the changes are for the greater good. On 15th November 2004, royal assent was secured on the updated Childrens Act and the legislative spine that would bring about whole-scale reform in the delivery of services to children was agreed. Social services and education departments were brought together under the banner of children’s services and would be required to work together, sharing information to secure better outcomes for children.