UK developments

One of the characteristics of the past 12 months that might strike the casual observer of social policy is the sheer number and range of issues that have been covered in the media, among the most prominent of which have been immigration and asylum seekers, and the government's handling of these; the public services, including both funding and pay; the outcome of the Laming enquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié, with its wide-ranging recommendations for improved partnership and coordination between a range of public services; education, with higher education joining school education in a more prominent position on the government's agenda than in recent years; and sustained attention to pensions, with companies continuing to move from final salary schemes to money purchase schemes, while falls in the stock market further eroded the pension plans of many people.

Outside the social policy agenda, but nevertheless with significant implications for social policy, the dominant issues remained those associated with the aftermath of 11 September, with debates over the likelihood and the rights and wrongs of war with Iraq overshadowing other news stories, while the fear of terrorism continued to make itself felt through events abroad, such as the Bali bombing and, at home, the heightened security measures in place in and around airports as well as discussions in the media about the extent to which the public should be informed about possible terrorist threats. The strength of feeling against a war was demonstrated in February 2003 when the largest demonstration ever seen in Britain took place in London, dwarfing that of the Countryside Alliance the previous autumn.

The state of the economy was also an issue of some concern, in part due to doubts about the extent to which the UK could insulate itself from the downturn in the world economy, and given the slowdown, the ability of the government to meet its planned levels of expenditure on public services, as well as the concerns over pensions noted above and explored later in this chapter. In addition, rises in house prices meant that questions of affordability for key workers, particularly in the south east of England, remained, while the extent to which regional inequalities in house prices would widen or narrow regularly featured in the media.