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‘Big Society’ in the UK: A Policy Review
Author(s) -
Evans Kathy
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2010.00351.x
Subject(s) - big society , voluntary sector , politics , government (linguistics) , narrative , position (finance) , coalition government , civil society , big government , political science , public administration , public policy , private sector , sociology , public sector , political economy , public relations , economics , law , linguistics , philosophy , finance
Alongside the UK Coalition Government’s historic public spending cuts, the ‘Big Society’ has become a major narrative in UK political discourse. This article reviews key features of Big Society policies against their aims of rebalancing the economy and mending ‘Broken Britain’, with particular reference to their implications for children and young people, and for the voluntary and community sector working with them. Although many positives are acknowledged, flaws are identified in the lack of attention paid to the unique position of children in society, and in an inconsistent conceptualisation of the voluntary sector on which Big Society policies rely.