Readers of this journal will have seen themed sections on partnerships, governance and citizenship (volume 5, issue 2) and ‘consumerism in social policy (volume 2, issue 1) and might be asking exactly why a further one that combines these elements is now necessary. Having considered similar topics separately in these pages, why is it now necessary to look at them together?

This article introduces the central topic of the thematic section of this issue: the governance of activation. It applies the concept of governance to new service provision models and considers why this is a relevant issue for social policy scholars. Then, it provides a brief discussion of several aspects of the new service provision models that are being introduced all over Europe, where income protection schemes and activation policies are concerned. Finally, it introduces the other articles in the thematic section.

The history of the state, in relation to its ‘dealings’ with Gypsies and Travellers in Britain and Ireland, has not been one worthy of endorsement, praise or special prizes (Hawes and Perez, 1986; Mayall, 1995). Since the emergence of written records detailing the presence of such groups on these Islands (around the fifteenth Century, according to Fraser, 1995: 111–120) a familiar series of tensions has tended to take shape, tensions that are explored by the articles within this themed section and that we might today discuss in terms of core dichotomies, such as ‘integration and assimilation’, ‘inclusion and exclusion’ and, with a social policy focus, ‘care and control’. Indeed, where objective academic analysis has been conducted of the state's enactment of social policy measures in relation to both nomadic and sedentary communities of Gypsies and Travellers a brightly coloured picture reveals itself, illustrating, on the one hand, a desire to ‘help’ (care) for their well-being, safety and security (Parry et al., 2004; Cemlyn, 2006; Mason et al., 2006) whilst, on the other hand, there is also a strong tendency to monitor, classify and regulate (control) their movement, accommodation, work practices and cultural identity (Clark and Greenfields, 2006; Richardson, 2006; James, 2007, forthcoming). No matter what specific area of interest the researcher might have, whether it is accommodation, education or health, the states’ activities regarding the care and control of its Gypsy and Traveller citizens often appears to be confused, shifting between the punitive and restrictive as well as being ill-informed and lacking any kind of joined-up coherent strategy. As we will see, through the articles within this themed section, the tensions between the state and Gypsies and Travellers show little signs of being resolved, although in the last few years there have been (policy) signs and (practice) signals that all parties recognise the fact that current entrenched positions are damaging and unsustainable.

The focus of this themed section is on identifying gaps in anti-poverty policy towards children and young people. The idea to address this question originated at the conference ‘A Fairer Society? A Review of Policies for Vulnerable Groups’ organised by the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University in September 2006. The section offers a combination of papers from the conference (Bradshaw and Richardson; Smith; Sutton) and papers commissioned specifically to deal with gaps in anti-poverty policy towards children and young people (Lloyd; France; Phung). An overview of some useful sources has also been included (Davis and Sandu).

This article focuses on the contracting-out of Public Employments Services. Quasi-markets promise to deliver more efficient, effective and de-bureaucratised employment services. By comparing experiences from Holland, Australia and Denmark we investigate whether quasi-markets deliver on promises. Quasi-market models have difficulties in living up to the preconditions for a well-functioning market and political expectations. Efficiency gains and cost-savings are still largely unknown. Instead it is clear that quasi-markets create a new type of employment policy, and new conditions for governing the labour market and employment policy. Clouded in the ‘technical’ language of improved efficiency and effectiveness, such changes are often neglected and depoliticised.

The idea of participation has been central to many policy developments in recent years. Both Conservative and Labour governments have used notions of participation and involvement in attempts to justify and implement their social policies. Yet, despite a plethora of initiatives and guidance around ‘participation’ emerging from all levels of government, and a substantial academic literature, there remains a major, and potentially damaging, lack of clarity over many aspects of participation, while the secret of achieving ‘real’ participation appears to continue to remain elusive.

Since 2003 central government has undertaken a review of law and policy pertaining to Gypsies and Travellers, resulting in a new statutory requirement (Housing Act 2004) and policy guidance (Circular 1/2006) for local authorities undertaking Gypsy Traveller Needs Assessments (GTAAs).

This article first places Gypsy Traveller law and policy within a wider context of social theory, drawing upon the work of Foucault, Cohen, Deleuze and Simmel to explore the growing hostility between settled and travelling communities and the state's current response, which is grounded in a concern for community cohesion. After reviewing recent policy reports and initiatives this article briefly compares three Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessments, discusses the preferred methodologies for such exercises; differences in the Gypsy/Traveller populations in the three areas, and the implications of such variations for further studies. Finally, an assessment is made of the prospect of current initiatives resulting in practical improvements in the lived experiences of Gypsy Travellers.

New Labour's national childcare and family support strategies have been aimed at improving mothers' labour market participation and children's future educational achievements. As such, they constitute a key component of the child poverty agenda. HM Treasury has assumed a pivotal role in furthering the strategies' objectives. This article explores whether the mixed market economy selected as the vehicle to deliver childcare and family support provision, promotes separate markets for the poor and the better off, while hindering the achievement of child poverty strategy outcomes.

New forms of inter-agency co-operation have gained increasing prominence in the development and delivery of activation strategies. This article compares different models of inter-agency co-operation, drawing on case study research in Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. The different models have reported variations in performance when delivering on the key benefits often attributed to effective inter-agency co-operation. The article raises concerns that the process of contracting-out in activation has at times conflicted with attempts to improve co-operation between agencies, while the increasing dominance of purchaser–provider relations can undermine progress towards ‘shared ownership’ of activation policies and effective partnership-working.

UK public services are characterised by a tension between a model of the service user as a customer of public services and a model which envisages the user as a citizen. Drawing on empirical work in one local authority, we argue that in this tension the model of the customer is bolstered by the availability of ‘shrink wrapped’ or ‘black boxed’ IT-based ‘solutions’, available under the rubric of Customer Relationship Management. We argue that those who advocate the citizen perspective need to engage at this material and technological level if they are to be effective.

The central emphasis of New Labour's anti-poverty strategy has been on tackling child poverty. While such an approach is both important and valuable youth poverty has been given limited attention. Low and unstable incomes are a major cause of poverty amongst young people and risks are greatly increased as they try to live independently and move out of the family home. In the discussion that follows, I argue that New Labour's continued commitment to the social exclusion agenda has marginalised both the problem of youth poverty and the necessary solutions. Social exclusion policy is more concerned with responsiblising families and young people and disciplining them to work regardless of its value. Little attention is given to addressing the problems of youth incomes or providing adequate housing support for those most vulnerable to poverty.

The article identifies a resurgence of anti-Travellerism in post-Good Friday Agreement, post-Celtic Tiger Ireland – most obviously signalled by the ongoing Irish Government policy of ‘ethnicity denial’. It provides a comparative analysis of the different trajectories of state reformism with regard to Travellers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - from the promised ‘final solution’ to the ‘Traveller problem’ of the Commission on Itinerancy in 1963 through the high water mark of the 1995 Task Force Report. It finds a disturbing recrudescence of assimilationist, sedentarist and racist ideas and practices in contemporary state policies towards Travellers.

This paper illustrates the social and health consequences of the politics and policies of Gypsy sites in the UK. Recent research concerning health status shows that Gypsies and Travellers have significantly poorer health than other UK resident English speaking ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged white UK residents. Interview data from the qualitative study of Gypsy and Traveller experience of health and access to health care illustrate the impact of inequality and the association of accommodation factors with health outcomes health. This paper explores how policy on Gypsy sites impacts on the availability of suitable accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers and examines the practical implications for their status in society and the wider health consequences.

Most activation policies are based on a simplistic conception of responsibility: behaving responsibly coincides with quickly reintegrating the labour market. Local welfare agents are called to push beneficiaries to actively endorse this goal. But the issue of responsibility is much more complex. Drawing on Sen's capability approach, this article suggests that responsibilisation of recipients requires both empowerment and granting them more real freedom of choice on the labour market. Against the present trend toward hypertrophying individual responsibility, it calls for a more equilibrated balance between individual and social responsibility. The objective is not to define an impracticable ideal of responsibility, but to provide a yardstick for assessing activation programmes.

The concept of co-production – also called co-creation – is gaining widespread attention as a way to increase user involvement in service provision in the UK. It is usually taken as self-evident that more co-production will improve services. However, it is necessary to be clear about how far and in what ways co-production can improve public services. This article looks at the purported advantages of co-production, and considers how these can best be accessed. A case study workshop involving social housing users and providers, conducted as part of the National Consumer Council-Unison Shared Solutions project, is used to illustrate the need for collective dialogue and deliberation between co-producers rather than purely transactional forms of co-production.

Since announcing its ambitious pledge to eradicate child poverty, the Government's strategy has focused on providing extra income to families, particularly in terms of tax credits, and on increasing employment rates among parents. Recently, however, its strategy has developed to encompass a new emphasis on job retention, career progression and smoothing movement into and out of work, all of which should serve to safeguard and support children's movement out of poverty. With reference to poverty dynamics research, this article discusses why this new emphasis is crucial for reducing child poverty and highlights the possible future direction of developing policy in this light.

This paper considers concepts of citizenship and consumerism in light of complaints about healthcare, which have risen since the early1990s, due to a greater willingness by the healthcare user to complain, and also the reforms in complaint systems. The narrow legal model for dealing with complaints has been replaced by a managerial model based on corporate sector practice that views complaint handling as a way of retaining customers and organisational learning. The managerial model has proved difficult to embed into the English NHS and has been superposed with a centralised regulatory system that aims to manage performance while also being responsible for reviewing, complaints and being responsive to complainants. It is argued that this may have positive consequences in terms of improving healthcare quality but more negatively, the promotion of consumerism within complaints processes has led to a loss of the right to due process and public accountability.

An education system that is based on the needs of a sedentary community is inherently exclusionary for mobile young people. However, it is increasingly acknowledged that even Gypsy Traveller pupils who have been ‘settled’ for a number of years have limited engagement with the secondary phase of schooling. This paper provides an overview of developments in educational policy that have impacted on educational access for Travellers and draws upon research data generated from a recent five-year study to highlight potential challenges and barriers that continue to hinder their educational achievement. The findings suggest that experience of racism, the impact of cultural dissonance and low teacher expectations may all be contributory factors that affect Gypsy Traveller students’ educational engagement and achievement.

To date the main indicator used to compare the well-being of children in industrialised countries has been the proportion of children in income poverty. This article exploits data from recent work developing indices of child well-being in EU, OECD and CEE/CIS countries to explore whether child income poverty is a good representation of a wider understanding of child well-being. Using the poverty estimates in each index, as well as more recent estimates for the European Union, we find that for OECD countries income poverty still has some explanatory power but this is not the case for EU and CEE/CIS countries.

The integration of welfare services in activation policies has been one of the common answers to welfare challenges in EU member states over the last two decades. The process has been interwoven with the rescaling both downwards and upwards of welfare regulative authorities. The article discusses the role of integrated services in activation policies in relation to the centralisation and decentralisation of welfare policies in a comparative perspective of different EU welfare regimes and highlights the role of local institutional milieus in shaping path-dependent modes of governance in integrated services.