Accommodating 'others'?: housing dispersed, forced migrants in the UK

Utilising insights from a qualitative study in the city of Leeds (UK), this paper considers issues related to the housing of dispersed forced migrants. The term 'dispersed forced migrants' is used here as a general label to include four groups of international migrants (i.e. refugees, asylum seekers, those with humanitarian protection status and failed asylum seekers) who have previously been dispersed, on a no choice basis, to a variety of locations across the UK under the requirements of the Immigration and Asylum Act (1999). The tiering of housing entitlement that exists within the generic population of dispersed forced migrants (a consequence of the particular socio-legal status assigned to individuals), and its role in rendering migrants susceptible to homelessness is outlined. The adequacy/standard of accommodation made available to forced migrants is also discussed. It is concluded that current arrangements fail to meet the basic housing needs of many forced migrants. Any future improvement in this situation will require a significant shift in government policy

From Provider to Enabler of Care: Reconfiguring Local Authority Support for Older People and Carers in Leeds, 2008 to 2013

This article explores developments in the support available to older people and carers (i.e., caregivers) in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, and examines provision changes during a period characterized by unprecedented resource constraint and new developments in national-local governance. Using documentary evidence, official statistics and findings from recent studies led by the author, the effects of these changes on service planning and delivery and the approach taken by local actors to mitigate their impact are highlighted. The statistical data show a marked decline in some types of services for older people during a five year period during which the city council took steps to mobilize citizens and develop new services and system improvements. The analysis focuses on theories of social quality as a framework for analysis of the complex picture of change related to service provision. It concludes that although citizen involvement and consultations exerted a positive influence in delivering support to some older people and carers, research over a longer timescale is needed to show if these changes are adequate to protect older people and carers from the effects of ongoing budgetary constraints

The impact of paying treatment providers for outcomes: difference-in-differences analysis of the ‘payment by results for drugs recovery’ pilot

Aims: To estimate the effect on drug misuse treatment completion of a pilot scheme to pay service providers according to rates of recovery. Design: A controlled, quasi-experimental (difference-in-differences) observational study using multi-level random effects logistic regression. Setting: Drug misuse treatment providers in all 149 commissioning areas in England in the financial years 2011–12 and 2012–13. Participants: Service users treated in England in 2011–12 and 2012–13. Intervention and comparators: Linkage of provider payments to performance indicators in eight pilot commissioning areas in England compared with all 141 non-pilot commissioning areas in England. Measurements: Recovery was measured by successful completion of treatment (free from drugs of dependence) and engagement with services was measured by rates of declining to continue with treatment. Findings: Following the introduction of the pilot scheme, service users treated in pilot areas were 1.3 percentage points [odds ratio (OR) = 0.859; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.788, 0.937] less likely to complete treatment compared with those treated in comparison areas. Service users treated in pilot areas were 0.9 percentage points (OR = 2.934; 95% CI = 2.094, 4.113) more likely to decline to continue with treatment compared with those treated in comparison areas. Conclusions: In the first year of the pilot ‘Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery’ scheme in England, linking payments to outcomes reduced the probability of completing drug misuse treatment and increased the proportion service users declining to continue with treatment

Middle attainers and 14-19 progression in England : half-served by New Labour and now overlooked by the Coalition?

In the context of the international problem of ‘early school leaving’, this paper explores the issue of sustained participation in upper secondary education in England. It focuses in particular on the position of middle attainers, who constitute a large proportion of the cohort and whose progress will be vital in realising the Government’s goal of ‘Raising the Participation Age’ to 18 by 2015. The paper draws on evidence from national research undertaken as part of the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training in England and Wales and analysis of New Labour and Coalition policy between 2000-2012. It uses a three-year local study of 2400 14- and 16-year-olds in an established school/college consortium to illustrate the effects of policy and practice on middle attainers. We argue that this important group of young people was ‘half-served’ by New Labour, because of its incomplete and contradictory 14-19 reforms, and is now being ‘overlooked’ by Coalition policy because of its emphasis on high attainers. We conclude by suggesting a range of measures to support the 14+ participation, progression and transition of middle attainers in the English education and training syste

Waste incinerator residue treatment: Variability implications.

Air pollution control residues are a hazardous waste, collected when controlling the flue gas emissions created within modern energy from waste incinerators. They are inherently variable with regards to mineralogy and morphology. However, this variability is frequently neglected throughout the scientific literature concerned with their management. This work characterises residues collected from five different UK facilities and highlights the implications of their compositional variability for the performance of products resulting from a stabilisation/solidification treatment. It is demonstrated that the variability is of significance for the mineralogy and several key engineering properties of the products, and links between the properties of the residues and the behaviour of the products are shown. Residue variability should be considered when researching technical management options. Treatments are likely to require modification in order to satisfy performance envelopes for individual batches of residue