Blog: Afternoon Tea and Policy in Renfrewshire
By Hartwig Pautz, Greig Inglis, Colin Clark and Julie Clark. A Social Policy Association Opportunity Grants Project Report. — The Paisley campus of the University […]
News
Social Policy Association Opportunity Grants Autumn 2025 Call
The Social Policy Association has opened its Opportunity Grants programme for Autumn 2025. Deadline for applications: 10 October 2025 (Decisions to be communicated by 31 October.). Read […]
Blog: Who are working people and why is growth good?
By Neil Small, Emeritus Professor of Health Research at the University of Bradford. Keywords: Fiscal policy, growth, UK Parliament, working people. Image from Pixabay on […]
Blog: Autism Education in Wales and Northern Ireland: Why Promises Still Fall Short
By Elliw Siân Williams. Key Words: Autism education Wales, inclusive education Northern Ireland, autism policy UK, special educational needs, Additional Learning Needs Act Wales, Autism […]
Blog: Taking stock of Welfare State Determinants: A new approach to assessing robustness in quantitative comparative research
By Michael Ganslmeier (University of Exeter) and Tim Vlandas (University of Oxford). — The growth of quantitative comparative social policy research Since Wilensky’s seminal work […]
Call for new Co-Editor – Social Policy and Society
Message for the attention of SPA members — One of the current co-editors of the journal Social Policy and Society (Dr Ruby Chau) will complete […]
Call for new SPA Policy Group (and Groups Extension)
The purpose of the Social Policy Association (SPA) is to advance research, teaching and dissemination of knowledge in the field of Social Policy, and to […]
Blog: The future of Jobcentre Plus in Scotland: Multi-level messiness or a window of opportunity?
Dr Hayley Bennett (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Sioned Pearce (University of Cardiff) The UK Government’s labour market policy reforms have attracted attention and controversy […]
Blog: Social Policy in an era of fracturing solidarities – Revisiting the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP) and Social Policy Association (SPA) Joint Annual Conference 2025, University of York
Image: University of York/Alex Holland Social policy, whether as cash benefits, public services or regulatory measures, is an institutionalised form of solidarity. Welfare systems are […]
Blog: Will “banning” zero-hours contracts impact on those who are in them?
Dr Sarah Hadfield, Visting Fellow at The School of Social Policy and Criminology, The Open University. — Labour has consistently claimed that it is banning […]