Books in the Policy and Politics in the Twenty-First Century series

Focusing on the British NHS, this book reviews the key contemporary debates concerning health systems.

This book provides a much-needed introductory guide to the issues surrounding pension policy and offers a critique of some of the dominant ideas and assumptions. Noting the intense debate that currently surrounds the subject, the book explores a wider view of the continuing issues about pension policy.

At a time when transport is high on the political agenda and government decision-making is being vigorously scrutinised, there is a need for an incisive and accessible analysis of the key policy issues. This book is a highly readable introduction to the transport debate from two experts in the field. The authors celebrate the advantages of a modern transport system, but argue that years of poorly conceived and executed transport policy have resulted in Britain's transport system being far worse than it should be. They show that a substandard transport system creates economic, social and environmental costs, but demonstrate how these can be addressed through affordable and politically deliverable changes. Using a refreshingly novel approach, Shaw and Docherty use the familiar idea of the journey as the basis for their discussion. The book follows members of the Smith family as they uncover a wide array of transport issues, including why the problems we all encounter as we travel around actually come about; which policy trade-offs were responsible for creating them in the first place; what impacts we all have to suffer as a result; and what we can do to fix them. This lively and engaging approach will make the book ideal for a wide readership.

A contribution to one of the most hotly contested issues in Europe, The migration debate provides a well-balanced, critical analysis of UK migration policies, in a European context, from entry controls through to integration and citizenship. Exploring the pressures and constraints that have shaped a rapidly shifting policy terrain, this accessible overview offers a considered assessment of policy options to provide the foundation for a less polarised, better-informed public debate. Unusual in its coverage of immigration for work, study, family and protection, and in its insistence that an understanding of integration processes must be considered alongside analysis of entry controls, The migration debate will be of equal value to policy makers as to a multi-disciplinary academic readership.

Education is a key political issue and seen as a crucial factor in ensuring economic productivity and competitiveness. In this enthralling book, Stephen J. Ball offers an analysis of the flood of government initiatives and policies that have been introduced over the past 20 years, including Beacon Schools, the Academies programme, parental choice, Foundation Schools, faith schools and teaching standards. He looks at the politics of these policy interventions and how they have changed the face of education. This bestselling book makes essential reading for student-teachers, other students of politics and social policy courses and for the general reader who wants to get beyond the simplistic analyses of the newspapers.

The key debate in this timely book is whether social policy and people's homes should be so closely connected, especially when housing markets are so volatile. The author argues that housing, having been a relatively neglected field of public policy, is now rightfully re-established as a major pillar of the post-industrial welfare state.