The Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF) was a part of the Cabinet Office that provided the UK Government with strategic advice and policy analysis in its drive against social exclusion. It was preceded by the Social Exclusion Unit, which was set up by the Labour government in 1997 and formed part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The SETF was abolished in November 2010, [1] and its functions absorbed into the Office for Civil Society. [2]
The SEU, launched on 8 December 1997, outlined social exclusion as:
"A shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown" [3]
The SEU published over 50 reports in many areas of social policy. Subjects explored included rough sleeping, teenage pregnancy, mental health, and older people. A report called Reducing Re-Offending by Ex-prisoners was published in July 2002, identifying the needs of prisoners' families and the problems they faced. In July 2004 the Home Office published its response Reducing Re-offending National Action Plan. The Action Plan's recommendations were criticised as "very disappointing and extremely weak" [4] and "elementary" by the Home Affairs Select Committee. [5]
In 2005, the SEU published Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Needs which identified 27 cross-governmental action points to improve support for 16- to 25-year-olds by teaching them "basic life skills". [6]
In 2006, the SEU merged with the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. The task force aimed to ensure that Government departments work together to deliver services for the most disadvantaged members of society. It was located in Admiralty Arch, part of the Cabinet Office's buildings in Whitehall and employed around thirty staff. The director at the time of its abolition was Naomi Eisenstadt.
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexualityeducation or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, and birth control, sexual health, reproductive health, emotional relations and responsibilities, age of consent, and reproductive rights. Sex education that includes all of these issues is known as comprehensive sexuality education. In contrast, abstinence-only sex education, which focuses solely on promoting sexual abstinence, is often favored in more socially conservative regions, including some parts of the United States. Sex education may be provided as part of school programs, public health campaigns, or by parents or caregivers. In some countries it is known as "Relationships and Sexual Health Education".
The United Kingdom has three distinct legal systems with a separate prison system in each: one for both England and Wales, one for Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe, at 159 people per 100,000 in England and Wales; 162 people per 100,000 in Scotland; 97 people per 100,000 in Northern Ireland; and the largest prison population in Western Europe. The average cost per prison place was £46,696 in England and Wales (2021/22), £46,892 in Scotland (2021/22), and £47,927 in Northern Ireland (2022/23).
Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female under the age of 20.
Susan Catherine Deacon is a Scottish business executive, advisor and former politician who served as Chair of the Scottish Police Authority from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, she served as the first Minister for Health and Community Care in the Scottish Executive under first ministers Donald Dewar and Henry McLeish from 1999 to 2001.
Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) is the school curriculum subject in England that teaches young people, through all key stages, knowledge and skills for life during and after education. PSHE education covers education on personal and health related matters — such as Relationship and Sex Education — as well as preparation for post-education life, such as economic sustainability and careers advice.
A NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", is a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use has spread, in varying degrees, to other countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, Serbia, Canada, and the United States. The NEET category includes the unemployed, as well as individuals outside the labour force. It is usually age-bounded to exclude people in old-age retirement.
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the European Commission defines it as "a situation whereby a person is prevented from contributing to and benefiting from economic and social progress". It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, healthcare, politics and economics.
Adolescent medicine, also known as adolescent and young adult medicine, is a medical subspecialty that focuses on care of patients who are in the adolescent period of development. This period begins at puberty and lasts until growth has stopped, at which time adulthood begins. Typically, patients in this age range will be in the last years of middle school up until college graduation. In developed nations, the psychosocial period of adolescence is extended both by an earlier start, as the onset of puberty begins earlier, and a later end, as patients require more years of education or training before they reach economic independence from their parents.
Kamlesh Kumar Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, is a member of the House of Lords. Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours, he was created a life peer as Baron Patel of Bradford, of Bradford in the County of West Yorkshire on 8 June 2006. He currently sits as a non-affiliated peer, as of 20 March 2018, but has previously sat as a crossbench (2006–2008), Labour (2008–2012) and Labour and Co-operative (2012–2018) peer.
Community education, also known as Community-Based Education or Community Learning & Development, or Development Education is an organization's programs to promote learning and social development work with individuals and groups in their communities using a range of formal and informal methods. A common defining feature is that programmes and activities are developed in dialogue with communities and participants. The purpose of community learning and development is to develop the capacity of individuals and groups of all ages through their actions, the capacity of communities, to improve their quality of life. Central to this is their ability to participate in democratic processes.
Carers' rights are rights of unpaid carers or caregivers to public recognition and assistance in preventing and alleviating problems arising from caring for relatives or friends with disabilities. The carers' rights movement draws attention to issues of low income, social exclusion, damage to mental and physical health identified by research into unpaid caregiving. In social policy and campaigning the movement distinguishes such people's situation from that of paid careworkers, who in most developed countries have the benefit of legal employment protection and rights at work. With an increasingly ageing population in all developed societies, the role of carer has been increasingly recognized as an important one, both functionally and economically. Many organizations which provide support for persons with disabilities have developed various forms of support for carers/caregivers as well.
The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of Massachusetts. Its administrative office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street, Boston. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services and facilities for incarcerated children.
Lancashire Probation Trust is a criminal justice agency responsible for punishing and rehabilitating offenders in Lancashire, England.
Revolving Doors is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which works across England and Wales. Through research, policy and campaigning work, the organisation aims to improve services for people with multiple needs who are in repeat contact with the criminal justice system.
The incarceration of women in the United States refers to the imprisonment of women in both prisons and jails in the United States. There are approximately 219,000 incarcerated women in the US according to a November 2018 report by the Prison Policy Initiative, and the rate of incarceration of women in the United States is at a historic and global high, with 133 women in correctional facilities per every 100,000 female citizens. The United States is home to just 4% of the world's female population, yet the US is responsible for 33% of the entire world's incarcerated female population. The steep rise in the population of incarcerated women in the US is linked to the complex history of the war on drugs and the US's prison–industrial complex, which lead to mass incarceration among many demographics, but had particularly dramatic impacts on women and especially women of color. However, women made up only 10.4% of the US prison and jail population, as of 2015.
Northern Ireland has differing legislation and policy in relation to disability than in other areas of the UK, due to the various governmental powers and competencies that are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Youth homelessness is the problem of homelessness or housing insecurity amongst young people around the globe, extending beyond the absence of physical housing in most definitions and capturing familial instability, poor housing conditions, or future uncertainty. Youth Homelessness affects people globally, transcending borders. Policies to alleviate this challenge have been implemented in nations across the world, yet the challenge of keeping young people off the streets persists. Foundational struggles involving addiction, familial unrest, or abuse often lead to young people choosing to leave or being forced out of their homes before they are adequately prepared to be on their own.
Prevention of mental disorders are measures that try to decrease the chances of a mental disorder occurring. A 2004 WHO report stated that "prevention of these disorders is obviously one of the most effective ways to reduce the disease burden." The 2011 European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on prevention of mental disorders states "There is considerable evidence that various psychiatric conditions can be prevented through the implementation of effective evidence-based interventions." A 2011 UK Department of Health report on the economic case for mental health promotion and mental illness prevention found that "many interventions are outstandingly good value for money, low in cost and often become self-financing over time, saving public expenditure". In 2016, the National Institute of Mental Health re-affirmed prevention as a research priority area.
The minister of mental health and addictions is a minister of the Crown and a member of the Canadian Cabinet tasked with supporting the Government of Canada's mental health and addictions related priorities. The office is associated with the Department of Health.
Youth services is a field of practices within the social services sector in North America. Defined as "programs, activities, and services aimed at providing a range of opportunities for school-aged children, including mentoring, recreation, education, training, community service, or supervision in a safe environment," youth services are a comprehensive series of strategies, activities, programs and organizations spread across the United States and Canada today. In North America, youth services are generally viewed as more organized and systemized than youth work. The term "youth services" is used in international contexts as well.