Documents Coote, Anna 7 results

"This short paper aims to provoke fresh thinking and debate about the policies we shall need for the future. It opens up a new programme of work at nef (the new economics foundation) that explores the connections between society, economy and the environment, and draws out their implications for social policy.
Through 60 years of peace and plenty, Britain's welfare system has proved unequal to the task of narrowing inequalities or building a cohesive society. Income and health inequalities are wider than ever; yet unjust and divided societies are ill-equipped to take concerted action. A high degree of social solidarity is needed to tackle the profound economic and environmental crises that confront us all today.
Our central premise is that policy and practice must aim for sustainable social justice. To achieve this, the welfare system must be transformed. The role of Government will remain central, but we need a new social settlement that depends less on the market economy and instead values and nurtures two other economies - the resources of people and the planet. We consider what must be done to ensure that all three economies - people, planet and markets - work together for social justice."

"The idea that healthcare and education should be provided as universal public services to all who need them is widely accepted. But why leave it there? Why not expand it to more of life's essentials?

In their bold new book, Anna Coote and Andrew Percy argue that this transformational new policy – Universal Basic Services – is exactly what we need to save our societies and our planet. The old argument that free markets and individual choice are the best way to solve pressing problems of poverty, inequality and environmental degradation has led us to catastrophe, and must be abandoned. The authors show that expanding the principle of collective universal service provision to everyday essentials like transport, childcare and housing is not only the best way of tackling many of the biggest problems facing the contemporary world: it's also efficient, practical and affordable.
Anyone who cares about fighting for a fairer, greener and more democratic world should read this book."

"Not so long ago, people thought that a ten-hour, six-day week was normal; now, it's the eight-hour, five-day week. Will that soon be history too?
In this book, three leading experts argue why it should be. They map out a pragmatic pathway to a shorter working week that safeguards earnings for the lower-paid and keeps the economy flourishing. They argue that this radical vision will give workers time to be better parents and carers, allow men and women to share paid and unpaid work more equally, and help to save jobs - and create new ones - in the post-pandemic era. Not only that, but it will combat stress and illness caused by overwork and help to protect the environment.
This is essential reading for anyone who has ever felt they could live and work a lot better if all weekends were three days long."

"Discussions about sustainable consumption corridors tend to focus on private consumption. This Policy brief explores the contribution that public consumption may provide in maintaining lower and upper corridor boundaries. Recently developed proposals for “universal basic services” (UBS) are offered as a framework for understanding the potential of public consumption in this context. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary literature, the policy brief seeks to define and analyze the concept of universal basic services in theoretical and practical terms. It considers how far they may contribute and what their limits are, and briefly examines the extent to which this approach complements or conflicts with proposals for universal basic income (UBI)."

"The social and economic context which public and community services are operating in has often been described as the ‘perfect storm'; where higher demand and reduced resources frustrate attempts to support the prevention of ill-health and the encouragement of good health.
Communities are mobilising across England to improve experiences of health and care services and the wellbeing of others through many different kinds of local action.
To celebrate and support this, the Health as a Social Movement (HASM) programme has worked in partnership with six vanguard sites across the country to:
• Understand and explore their aims and concerns about health and care in their area.
• Encourage people to value and build on their assets and experience.
• Enable people to get together, help each other, build knowledge, and develop a shared purpose.
• Work out together what can support the improvement of the health and wellbeing of people living in their areas.
• Build momentum for change in health and care, learning as we go.
Alongside the sites, we are working to achieve the following changes:
• People take more control over health and care services.
• People are better able help themselves and others to stay well and get ill less often and for shorter periods of time.
• Communities build their capacity to meet health and care needs.
• More people are able to lead good lives.
• There is less acute demand for NHS and other services for avoidable treatment and care.
The six vanguard sites all have taken up the opportunity to achieve transformational change in their communities differently. However, the sites have all demonstrated that different actions build on each other, so that momentum for change can keep growing and spreading over time.
In conjunction with a final paper containing the evaluations of the sites and recommendations for the health and care system, this report looks at what has happened in practice across the sites, what local groups did and how their activities are continuing to help make change.
• We start by summarising briefly the why and the how of making these changes: what's wrong with the way things are now, and what needs to be done differently?
• We then offer a picture of what success looks like, to help take stock of progress so far and guide future activities.
• We describe what's happening in six communities and draw on their experiences to show how they are trying to make change.
This way, we hope to encourage and support citizens and workers engaged in health and care across the country – from local community based organisations and local public services, to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and all those trying to transform the health and care system so that it is able to meet current and future needs.
This report, produced by NEF and the RSA, is aimed at helping people that are committed to improving health and care to take forward the principles that we have found underpin successful relationships with communities into their work."