British Government Research Articles

Learnings from ‘Everyone In’ initiative in England for improving health of people facing homelessness

Abstract Issue The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented health risk to people experiencing homelessness including risk of infection due to inability to self-isolate, and pandemic restrictions adding barriers to accessing health support. The English Government implemented the ‘Everyone In’ policy at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which offered accommodation to those who were (or at risk of) sleeping rough. This led to integration of support for health, care and housing. Description of the problem Between January-October 2023, a qualitative study was undertaken to understand what worked well and less well in implementing the ‘Everyone In’ initiative for improving physical and mental health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. People who were provided accommodation and those involved in the planning or delivery of the initiative were interviewed. Results Flexibility in provision of funding and support, lack of red tape and joined-up working between partners across sectors were key positives of implementing the policy. ‘Everyone In’ also led to new ways of supporting and overcoming barriers to support, for example, provision for people with no recourse to public funds. Access to health services for people experiencing homelessness was improved by strengthened relationships with service providers, and outreach within the accommodation for wrap-around support. Challenges were faced in support for substance use. Data sharing practices, mental health support, and recognition of trauma were areas that could have worked better. Lessons Availability of flexible and earmarked funding is crucial in implementing strategies for improving outcomes in homelessness. Many short and long-term initiatives have been launched as a result of ‘Everyone In’. This study highlights the importance of partnership working, supported housing and maintaining flexible, responsive approaches to interventions to meet the health and social care needs of people experiencing homelessness. Key messages • Multi-sectoral partnerships and integrating housing with health and care support can improve access to services. • Availability of flexible funding for homelessness strategies supports adaptable and responsive service provision.

The Rise of Digital Banking in the UK Financial Sector and Its Impact on Commercial Banks

In the contemporary financial domain, the emergence of digital banks has revolutionized operational models in traditional commercial banking. This article delves into how digital banks, through advanced technology and customer-centric services, compel commercial banks to revaluate their operational and regulatory frameworks. Specifically, it focuses on the digital banking market in the UK, analyzing how digitalization and technological progress are driving the evolution of competitive dynamics within the financial sector. As one of the worlds foremost financial hubs, the UKs trends in financial market development have profound implications for the global financial system. The British government and regulatory bodies have proactively adapted to these shifts, framing policies that facilitate innovation while ensuring security and compliance within digital banking. This backdrop sets the stage for this report to explore the transformative impact of digital banks on traditional banking models in the UK, aiming to understand the regulatory adaptations and the overall influence of digital entities on the conventional banking landscape.

Personification in Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant"

The research has displayed the role of the literary figure of speech, personification used in the story of Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant". It has linked the four types of the personifications and how the British women have been applied as the personifications to extend the colonial government as the civilized and the superior race in the globe. As the British women have been found to be powerful to the British colonial government, so is the strength of the use personifications in the work of art and in the literary creativity. The personified objects and the seasons in the story have elevated its classic form to the fairy-tale as the story of the children and it has lured the attention of the readers. Reading such personified tales enhances the creativity of the children and of any readers but it is to be identified as the language of personifications by the readers while reading it. The beauty and the strength of the fairy-tale would be lost in absence of the personified objects and the seasons in the story "The Selfish Giant". Overall, personification in “The Selfish Giant” makes the story’s moral lessons more accessible and memorable for children by giving human traits to non-human elements and depicting their interactions in a way that resonates with the readers' own experiences and emotions. While younger children might understand personification more through the narrative and illustrations, older children might analyze it more critically and recognize it as a literary device used to enhance the story’s themes and moral lessons. It has been found that the teachers have to apply some of the techniques in the context for the students in making them comprehending the use of the personification in the story and by displaying the effectiveness of the use of the figure of speech in creating the curiosity for the learners.

UK Labour Party Leaders' Attitudes to Conventional Threats to National Security, 2023-2024

Introduction. The article focuses on the securitisation of power threats in the public speeches of the UK Labour Party leaders (Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Defence Minister John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy) during the 2023-2024 election campaign. An attempt has been made to highlight the commonalities and peculiarities in the approach of the current and previous British governments to countering the main threats to national security. Materials and methods. The paper combines qualitative and quantitative approaches: a critical content analysis of sources and discourse analysis in an electoral context (using data from sociological surveys) are conducted, while the frequency of word usage in the public speeches of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is analysed using the tools of quantitative analysis of big data (R programming language). The methodological basis of the work is the theory of securitisation proposed by the Copenhagen School of the theory of international relations.Research results. It is concluded that the main change in London's foreign policy after Labour's victory in the 2024 parliamentary elections will be the prioritisation of security cooperation with European states. Labour Party leaders do not question the need for ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China, but they give the ‘China threat’ secondary importance: there are noticeable differences within the party on this issue. On the other hand, Labour's position on the ‘special relationship’ with the United States is characterised by a steady continuity with the Conservative government's approach. The need to deepen cooperation in Euro-Atlantic security structures (primarily NATO) and continental formats (EI2, JEF) is stated.Discussion and conclusion. On the basis of qualitative examination of policy documents and statements of the Labour Party leaders, as well as quantitative analysis of big data, conclusions are drawn about the key elements of potential continuity and variability in the foreign policy of London before and after the parliamentary elections on July 4, 2024. The results of the work can be useful in forecasting changes in the foreign policy of Great Britain after the victory of Labour in the parliamentary elections of 2024. The theoretical importance of the work lies in the fact that the article proposes a new methodology for quantitative analysis of the foreign policy of the UK.

The ‘Great Survivor’ lives on? Resilience, austerity and devolution in English local government

ABSTRACT This article explores interpretations of resilience within English local government. Using a historical and multi-scalar framework, it argues that previous accounts of resilience in English local government have neglected the effect of sub-national institutional restructuring and compounding the impact austerity has had on local government capacity to navigate this complex landscape. The article situates resilience in the broader context of decentralisation, illustrating the benefits of adopting a broad spatial perspective to focus on resilience within local government systems. Continuing austerity and inconsistently applied institutional reorganisation are highlighted as potential twin threats to the ‘survivability’ of English local government.

‘A Chancellor’s Foot’: Certifying Justice with Fools’ Ballads in Seventeenth-Century England

ABSTRACT In the seventeenth century, issues of jurisprudence and legal consciousness plagued pamphlets and debates at the Inns of Court. John Selden and other lawyers sought to define justice. However, while we would expect to find such debates in legal writing and pamphlets, this article demonstrates that such debates can be found in other popular genres more accessible to the public: ballads. The article uses Autolycus from The Winter’s Tale as a case study to show how later Royalists balladeers and songwriters, including Alexander Brome, used the ballad genre to critique public opinion as a legitimate form of legal conscience and adjudicate the new forms of English government during the Interregnum. In doing so, the article underscores the importance of ballads for Interregnum writers and the public to counterbalance the varying legal conscience and equity in seventeenth-century England.

Financing a Revolution: The Impact of Bolívar's British Networks in the Independence of Colombia

Abstract This article explores the financial and geopolitical networks behind the independence of Gran Colombia. It shows that the failure to obtain official British government support for independence was compensated for by the development of a network of private individuals and partnerships that supplied large quantities of arms, equipment and men. A Colombian government document granting ‘Powers’ to London intermediaries was crucial to the construction of this network. We analyse who the key players were and how the network operated. By exploring the decisions and actions of merchants through the lens of risk, trust, credit and networks, we provide a fresh insight into the wider process of independence in Gran Colombia.

A New Sanctified British Era of Architecture and Supremacy at Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan

This article defines the ‘Church Architecture’ with its genera which was introduced by the British government to the Subcontinent. This architecture is a significant part of the cultural heritage and British Archaeology of Pakistan. ‘Church Architecture’ is still a center of attention for the general public and the Christian community in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. These “churches” were not only religious buildings of the British era but have always been the political and religious epicenters of British authorities. When the British East India Company was expanding its trading activities all over the subcontinent before 1849, simultaneously, ‘Company’ was trying to achieve the political and religious agenda of the British authorities. With combat skills, this trading company was able to meet the existing Sikh ruling powers on the battlefield, and the ‘Regime Change Operation’ ended, and the ‘British Era’ of architecture and supremacy emerged in Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan.

British Government Officials in the Ottoman Empire and Evolving Humanitarianism after the Balkan Wars and the First World War

Abstract This article assesses the changes in humanitarianism by locally stationed British government officials after the Balkan Wars and after the First World War. Studies have examined British humanitarian goals in the Ottoman Empire in relation to the First World War, but lacking is an assessment of efforts from locally stationed British officials, with a particular absence of research regarding the Balkan Wars. We find that while British humanitarianism was expanded after the First World War, the framework for those changes was established during the Balkan Wars. Comparing evolving humanitarianism during these time periods is best seen via changes in the range of intervention strategies to create ‘good government’, to prevent and stop atrocities, and to care for refugees. Unlike the British relationship with the Ottoman government during the Balkan Wars, Britain’s humanitarian stance in 1918 and 1919 was matched by a stronger grasp on power in Constantinople and over the Ottoman Porte. However, as the political, social, financial, and military demands of the post-war landscape undermined Constantinople’s power, so too was British humanitarianism undermined.

Dr Bonté Elgood (1874-1960): First woman doctor in Egypt and pioneer of maternal and child care.

Bonté Elgood, née Amos, was one of the early women doctors who qualified from the progressive London School of Medicine for Women, established in 1874. She chose to practice in Egypt which was then under British administration. When she arrived in 1900, Egyptian medical provision for mothers and children was rudimentary where it existed at all. For over 50 years, Bonté Elgood played an important role in setting up maternity care and child health services, first in Cairo and later in the whole country. For her work, she was awarded the OBE and CBE by the British government, and she also received decorations from the French and Egyptian governments.

All we want is, free, safe, legal, local abortion access for everyone who needs it: An examination of the Northern Ireland decriminalisation of abortion campaign

The decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019 was politically complex. This paper presents an overview from my perspective as the co-convenor of Alliance for Choice (AfC), the primary abortion activist group in the North, focusing on the socio-political background, then analysis via key themes. It considers abortion law in Northern Ireland as British colonialism in Ireland; it then follows the recent political crisis in the British government that offered abortion activists an unprecedented opportunity for restitution via decriminalisation. There is an examination of the influence of SisterSong’s work, which informed Alliance for Choice’s (AfC) campaign for decriminalisation (Bloomer & Pierson 2020). The article critically examines multiple barriers to abortion faced by people in Northern Ireland, where navigating complex abortion health systems for access to abortion care leaves too many behind. Finally, it illustrates how the needs of abortion seekers are better addressed by focusing on decriminalisation. It concludes by identifying how this can inform reproductive justice campaigns elsewhere and recognises the intersectional work that remains to be done. Together it illustrates how in Northern Ireland, multiple layers of campaigning and political change were utilised to bring forth significantly greater bodily autonomy within a human rights and grassroots framework.

La exploración de los hidrocarburos en el caso de las islas Malvinas de 1995 a 2022

This paper aims to analyze the hydrocarbon exploration process in the Malvinas Islands carried out by the United Kingdom from 1995 to 2022. In relation to this, the question of the Malvinas Islands refers to a dispute between the Argentine and British governments over sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and islands of the South Atlantic, the surrounding marine spaces, which also includes oil and gas. In this sense, these resources hosted on the islands’ submarine shelf were a long-standing focus of interest. In the 1990s, the British government authorized the arrival of transnational companies to carry out exploration activities and possible exploitation in an area that is still under international dispute. In this context, the Argentine State recognized these insular and maritime areas as an integral part of its national territory and, consequently, rejected the presence of these companies and declared their activities illegal.

---------------TEAR HERE--------------

This contribution is a record—apparently—of a presentation about the function and effects of dramatic performance within communities. It lurched from the Covid pandemic and the British government’s ‘levelling-up’ project back, over a century earlier, to the beginnings of the municipal and amateur theatre movements. These latter produced some of the earliest formulations of the idea that participation in performance-making enables self-expression and a sense of fellowship, thus building community. But, as Granville Barker, one of its greatest proponents, warned, this same activity, where it’s not rooted in the ‘hearts’ of people is merely a professional product, not ‘vital’. Which produces a dilemma for an author asked to take a live event, shared among participants, and substitute for it a journal article, civic, perhaps, but not necessarily vital. (This article is published in the thematic collection `The arts and humanities: rethinking value for today—views from Fellows of the British Academy’, edited by Isobel Armstrong.)

GRAVES’ CONCERNS: THE 1841–2 XANTHOS EXPEDITION

The expeditions removing and excavating antiquities at the site of Xanthos in Lycia (1841–4) have been highlighted by scholars as setting a new precedent for whole-sale collection from a single site, and the support – through the national museum and the Royal Navy – of the British government for archaeological endeavours. Questions remain, however, regarding the failure of the first mission to remove the antiquities. According to the current narrative, the blame rests on the navy officer assigned to support Charles Fellows. Based on archival research, this article presents the concerns that Commander Thomas Graves had with the undertaking. His perspective sheds new light on how ill-planned the initial attempts were, and consequently how much was learned. The obstacles encountered in the first Xanthos expedition spurred developments in archaeological practice, introduced by people of non-academic professions.

The Kudmi (Kudumi), a totemic community of Jharkhand State and near about parts (India) – critical evaluation for inclusion in ST category

The Kudmi (Kudumi) a totemic primitive community (tribe) originated and evolved from the Neanderthal man (Homo Sapiens neanderthdemais) 2,30,000 years ago, like all other human beings, which is evidenced by the evolutionary theories based on fossil findings and population genetics. They are inhabiting in the state of Jharkhand and its near about, i.e. of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Chattisgarh states since time immemorial, who were classified as “Primitive tribes” by the British regime in India in 1865, alongwith other primitive tribes under the term of the Indian succession Act, as they have customary rules of sucession. Subsequently in 1913 and 1931 they were included in the list of tribes (Primitive Tribes). But unfortunately, they were omitted as from the ST category drawn up in 1950 for reasons that are unknown, although they are having traits of Primitive Tribes, e.g., they are totemic (alike all other primitive tribes of India and the world) i.e. their lineage related to plants, animals and other natural objects, shyness of contact with other communities at large, distinctive culture, geographically isolated, Backwardness (towards past, keeping back and slow is learning) and specific mother tongue-“Kudmali’.Under the above circumstances the Kudmis of the above noted geographical area be again reincluded in the ST category by the present authority concerned to bring them to the main stream of development of the country and to uplift their life style and social status at large.

Human Rights in Scottish Foreign Policy: Constructing Scotland as a Good Global Citizen

Abstract While foreign policy is a reserved matter for the British government in Westminster, it is clear that the Scottish government aspires to, and indeed has implemented, an expanding programme of independent external relations. It is not the first sub-state political actor to do so. Whether as a part of the UK, or as potentially an independent country, Scotland has put considerable effort into developing an identity as a good global citizen. One area in particular where this has occurred is in human rights, where it has demonstrated leadership on a number of issues and sought to connect its domestic commitments to human rights to its external persona. This article will examine the dynamics of this development, looking at both the constraints and the possibilities for Scotland as an international human rights actor.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on support for the SNP and Scottish independence

ABSTRACT The retrospective model of voting holds that parties are elected based on their perceived competence in government and punished for incompetence. This theory is complicated in contexts of multilevel governance as it requires attributing responsibility to a particular party in a particular level of government. This paper tests the extent to which this model explains public opinion in a multilevel context (Scotland) on a high-stakes valence issue (the coronavirus pandemic). Using British Election Study Internet Panel data from 2019 to 2021, it assesses how the public responded to the perceived competence of the Scottish Government and British Government. The results find that for each Government those voters who rated their handling of the pandemic more highly increased their liking of the governing party and its leader. Further, those voters who thought a Government had performed well were more likely to switch towards supporting the party in power, but this depended on how much they previously liked that party. Similarly, increases in support for Scottish independence from the UK came from those voters who not only judged the Scottish Government to have handled the pandemic well, but also previously liked the SNP prior to the pandemic.

We, the receptors: Planning and the politicization of local opposition to fracking in Britain

The British government used to herald shale gas as a bridge fuel to a zero-carbon economy, trying (and ultimately, failing) to incorporate this hydrocarbon into a punctuated energy transition that is still under way in the country. On the one hand, planning translated central political decisions into local priorities, but on the other hand, it politicized public opposition to fracking. Although, there have been considerable criticisms of the planning process for fracking in Great Britain, we still lack a grounded understanding of how planning influenced the wider dynamics of public engagement with shale gas development. Drawing on ethnographic and participatory research across three locations in northern England, I explore how the planning process was experienced by the public and how its local participants were impacted by it. The ways in which planning dealt with evidence, public perception and democratic legitimacy suggested that planning was reinforcing the governmental pro-fracking policies while simultaneously undermining its own legitimacy, as questions about validity, impartiality and democracy were being raised. Rather than merely a technocratic arena for adjudicating between private and public interests, planning had a transformative effect on local participants and served as an important moment for mobilizing more politicized forms of public opposition against fracking, which undermined the energy-transition narratives touted by the government. I use anthropological theorizations of ritual to explain the concrete local dynamics that led to this unintended effect. This case study suggests that centrally orchestrated energy transitions may fail when they are enacted through local processes that foster experiences of injustice and lack of local control among the opposing publics.

Financial precarity in English local government

Financial precarity in English local government

“You are you, and I am me”: investigating inter-organisational collaboration between multiple emergency services

PurposeIn the past decade, financial austerity has brought significant pressure upon emergency services in the UK. For the British Government, one approach to alleviate this pressure was to increase collaborative efforts in core functions (e.g. information systems and technology) between multiple organisations. Despite the consensus that collaborations are key in addressing complex problems, the majority fail or become discontinued. This research explores the development of collaborative information infrastructures between one Police Force and two Fire and Rescue Services in the UK, with a specific focus on how the difference in culture, identities and rules and norms, can work in a collaborative emergency service environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated an example of successful development of a collaborative information infrastructure within the context of public safety and, specifically, the technology-based structures that underpin information management. A case study approach was taken, combining semi-structured interviews, document analysis and site visits. The study used activity theory as a theoretical and analytical framework.FindingsThe research revealed that creating a shared identity is not essential in emergency services collaboration, and organisations may maintain their separate identity, given they address other elements of the activity system (e.g. leadership, motivated subjects). However, pursuing this strategy will create multiple tensions throughout the collaboration process.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the information systems literature concerning inter-organisational collaborations in the public sector providing a novel view to the implications of maintaining separate identities, and the significance of misalignment between interacting activity systems.