From seeking efficiency to managing austerity: Shifting priorities in Welsh social service policy

Description

In this paper we discuss key changes in the Welsh Government’s approach to social services reflected in flagship policy documents published in 2007 and 2011, before and after the financial crisis of 2008. Changes in emphasis between these two texts reflect wider political shifts away from the simple pursuit of fiscal discipline in public services towards a more significant neoliberal reduction in their overall size and scope, a retrenchment of the welfare state. We contextualise this development in the historical advance of neoliberalism across the UK (and elsewhere) since the mid-1970s. We argue that Wales – with its historic radical and socialist tradition – has been only marginally successful in resisting this tide. We use content analysis to demonstrate these shifts of emphasis across the texts, which we argue is a useful tool in getting to grips with policy texts.

Period	7 Jul 2019
Event title	WISERD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019. ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY 3&4 JULY 2019: WISERD 2019
Event type	Conference
Location	Aberytwyth, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International