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Thatcherite Conservatives Came To Power On An Agenda Of Deregulation, ...


Thatcherite conservatives came to power on an agenda of deregulation, privatisation and liberalisation and planned to construct an economy that would be flexible, low tax, low wage, under unionised, and with a progressively lesser level of social and public expenditure.
Three principles were of paramount importance: limiting public expenditure; the pursuit of efficiency, economy and effectiveness; and the intrinsic superiority of the market in the provision and delivery of welfare. A fundamental incompatibility was perceived between the market economy and social welfare provision. In the cause of reviving economic growth, taxes were lowered, the goal of full employment was abandoned and the economy was deregulated. In this strategic context, the central significance of Conservative rule for social work was the establishment of the social work business, making the operation of social work as similar as possible to that of a private sector business. (Harris, 2002)
The need for change, in conservative opinion, arose out of a pressing need to react against the inflexibility, inefficiency and aloofness of both the bureaucracies and the professionals who had assumed key roles in the delivery of services, and overcome the deficits that arose out of such attitudes. The welfare state, it appeared, had spawned a system of social work that was replete with bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of coordination between bureaucrats and professionals, low social worker commitment, absence of specialisation, incorrect and wasteful utilisation of funds, and excessive manpower.
The emergence of new and deliberately introduced organisational structures and reporting relationships, the delineation of different roles for officials, and the establishment of target oriented cultures, resulted in extensive reorganisation of widely accepted and secure social work systems and led to the changing of long established administration and delivery practices. Key concepts introduced in social work practice were similar to those used in NPM (New Public Management) and included (a) a focus on strong, involved management, as opposed to supposedly lethargic and bureaucratic rule based working, (b) clearly laid out performance measures and standards, (c) the treatment of social work recipients as clients with the freedom of choice, (d) a strong stress on systems, budgeting, and efficient resource utilisation, (e) public-private participation, and (f) outsourcing of services from private sector agencies.

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