Copy of `SocietyGuardian - glossary of society`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

SocietyGuardian - glossary of society Category: People and society Date & country: 14/09/2007, UK Words: 527

Community governance
The involvement of local people and organisations in the way that government and public services are run in their area. It can range from standing for election to parish or district councils, to providing community managed services, or just having a say in local decisions.

Community housing taskforce
Unit within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set up to help local authorities hive off their council homes to new forms of management.

Community mental health team
Multidisciplinary teams made up of a mix of psychiatrists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and therapists. Provide assessment, treatment and care for individuals and groups with severe and enduring mental health problems outside hospitals.

Community Sector Coalition
A network of national community development organisations. Members include National Association of Women's Organisations, the Federation of Independent Advice Centres and National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service.

Community strategy
Plans councils must draw up for improving the quality of life for local people. They must be completed with the help of businesses, voluntary groups and citizens.

Community Support Officers (CSOs)
CSOs are uniformed civilian personnel, under the control of the police, who act as a link between local communities and the police. They will have a complementary role to police officers, tackling disorder and anti-social behaviour, carrying out routine patrols, making policing more visible, and providing reassurance to the public. Under the Police Reform Act 2002, CSOs will have powers to detain people for up to 30 minutes (but not arrest them), and can issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling or cycling on the pavement.

Community treatment orders
Psychiatric patients released into the community who fail to take their medication face compulsory readmission to hospital under proposals unveiled in a government white paper to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act. Patients discharged from hospital would receive a compulsory care and treatment order specifying where they live and a care plan.

Compact
An agreement made by voluntary sector representatives and the government in 1998 covering the relationship between the two. Under the compact the government is committed to giving three months' notice of funding decisions and 12 weeks consultation, better feedback and statements on how proposed legislation will impact on the voluntary sector. The scheme has led to local compacts, and compacts on specific issues.

Comprehensive spending review (CSR)
Treasury review of public sector spending across all Whitehall departments to examine productivity and plan expenditure over the medium term. They take place every three years and the next is due in Summer 2002. Priorities include: children at risk; public sector labour market; improving the public space; health inequalities; and the role of the voluntary sector in providing services.

Compulsory purchase order (CPO)
The forced purchase of land or private property by a council for a greater public good such as a regeneration scheme. The value of the sale is set locally by the district valuer.

Compulsory treatment orders
Under proposals set out in the white paper to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act, doctors would be able to impose compulsory treatment orders on people with mental health problems whom, for whatever reason, had stopped taking their medication. Service users would have to go into hospital and be forced to take their drugs, or have their medication administed at home.

Concordat
Agreement created between two or more organisations, often to help deliver a service or set out a formal relationship, for example between the NHS and private healthcare companies, or between local and central government.

Connexions
All-encompassing youth service launched in April 2001 to replace the careers service and other statutory youth services. Aimed at giving 13 to 19 year-olds 'the best transition to adulthood'. Involves personal advisers going into schools, colleges and communities to steer young people towards goals and guide them to relevant services.

Conservation area
A planning term used to describe an area of special architectural or historic interest designated by local authorities. Within the area the council has extra controls over demolition, minor developments and the protection of trees.

Construction task force
Government committee chaired by Sir John Egan that produced the influential Rethinking Construction report. It called for an end to traditional bricks and mortar building in favour of modern techniques such as factory built homes. It also called for a new system of cooperative approach between clients and builders to avoid costly legal rows that have dogged many public building projects.

Consultant
Consultants are highly trained senior doctors. It typically takes between 10 and 16 years to become a consultant, although this time period varies between specialties. The UK has around 25,000 consultants. They are contracted to work around 35 hours a week for the NHS, although the British Medical Association claims the average consultant spends 50 hours a week on NHS work. NHS consultants earn, on average, £68,000 a year, although they can earn more through private practice.

Contact
Arrangements made for parents who are not looking after their children to have agreed meetings with them. Formerly known as access.

Continuous recordings (Core)
A system for collecting information on all new housing association lettings. It includes information on benefit dependency, rent levels and the ethnic origin of all new housing association tenants.

Contract
A written agreement between a service user and the provider setting out the terms, conditions and rights and responsibilities of both parties.

Contracting out
The practice of purchasing services from charities and other organisations by local authorities and other statutory bodies. For example, local authority social services departments 'contract out' meals-on-wheels services to charities and commercial organisations, paying them for the service rather than carrying it out themselves. The contracting out of public services to private companies for profit is a controversial issue in the sector.

Controls assurance
A process designed to enable NHS organisations to protect patients, staff, public and others against all kinds of risk.

Core funding
The money required for operational, management and day to day costs of a charity. Without core funding for these activities, the charity would not be able to do anything else. Core funding goes to fundraising, administration, property costs and staff salaries. Sometimes also relates to a charity's main source of income, for example, public donations, or grants.

Corporate governance
A framework through which organisations are accountable for standards in conducting corporate business, including meeting statutory financial duties, conferred upon them by the secretary of state for health.

Corporate governance inspection
A 'whole council' inspection that aims to tackle problems at the political and managerial centre of a council. The majority of local government best value inspections focus on groups of services.

Council for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Local umbrella body for voluntary organisations, charities and campaign groups in a particular area. Provides a local forum for discussion and often training, pooled resources and recruitment.

Council league tables
see Comprehensive performance assessment

Council tax
Property tax that councils use to raise an average of 25% of their budget, the rest coming from Whitehall grants. The benefits system subsidises payments for the poor, and people living alone get a discount. The tax is currently based on property values in 1991, but ministers have promised to review this and use updated house values for bills issued in 2007.

Council tax base
This figure is an indicator of how much council tax a council can raise. It is based on the 'equivalent' number of average band D properties in a local authority's area. For example, a property in band H is equivalent to two in band D.

Countryside agency
Government body that advises ministers on rural affairs and promotes conservation, social equity and economic opportunities for those who live in the countryside. It resulted from a merger between the countryside commission and the rural development commission.

County councils network (CCN)
Special interest group within the Local Government Association that represents England's 35 counties.

Credit approval
Government permission for a local authority to borrow money. Basic credit approvals are for general borrowing, whereas supplementary credit approvals are granted for spending on specific projects. Set to be scrapped under a new finance regime expected to arrive in April 2003.

Credit union
A mutual banking scheme under which people come together to pool their savings. Favoured by the government as a way of tackling the lack of banking facilities for people in deprived areas.

Day care
Daytime care usually provided in a centre away from a service user's home, covering a wide range of services from social and educational activities to training, therapy and personal care. Also known as day services.

Day case surgery
Clinical interventions that involve the patient being admitted for planned surgery, treated and discharged all on the same day. It is cheaper and more efficient than inpatient care, and clinical outcomes are as good. The Royal College of Surgeons estimates that round half of all elective surgical interventions can be done on a day case basis.

Day centre
A place for the provision of day care or day services.

Deakin commission
A 1996 investigation into the future of the voluntary sector in England and Wales, with the main focus on charitable status. The report, Meeting the Challenge of Change: Voluntary Action into the 21st Century: The Report of the Commission on the Future of the Voluntary Sector, favoured retaining a legal test of charitable status based on an organisation's purposes, rather than its actual activities.

Decanting
Moving tenants from their homes while improvements are carried out. Decanting often occurs on a large scale during major regeneration projects, adding to pressure on the supply of affordable housing.

Delft model
An influential choice-based system of allocating affordable housing used in the Dutch town of Delft. Under the system housing applicants choose available affordable homes advertised in the local press.

Density
Regeneration experts claim that one of the keys to improving the quality of Britain's towns and cities is to increase the density of housing. Many new housing developments have been built with only around 25 homes per hectare, which is now considered a waste of land. The government insists that new developments in the south east should be built at at least 30 homes per hectare. Critics say this is still too low. They point out that popular Victorian terraces and more recent European developments were built at densities of 80 homes per hectare or more.

Depression
Depression is a medical term that describes intense feelings of sadness or hopelessness. It involves more than feeling low; in its mildest form depression can make everything harder to do and seem less worthwhile. But it can be severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life, and persist for weeks or months rather than days. At its most severe, depression can lead to suicide or self-neglect as sufferers can give up the will to live. Depression is very common, affecting 7-12% of men and 20-25% of women in their lifetime. Some sufferers complain of physical symptoms, such as aches and pains and no energy, rather than low mood, while others find it difficult to keep up at work or socialise. Depression is often related to traumatic life events, such as bereavement, relationship difficulties, physical illness, or job or money worries.

Desktop review
A form of inspection where the performance of an organisation is assessed by submitted statistics rather than a visit by an inspector.

Developmental assessment
An assessment of the developmental difficulties experienced by a child and the planning of action to ensure these problems are addressed.

Did-not-attend (DNA)
Patients who fail to turn up for their hospital appointments without advanced warning, or who arrive late and cannot be seen by staff are recorded as did-not-attends. The NHS has been working to improve and simplify its waiting list procedures to crack down on DNAs, which cost the service around £280m a year.

Direct labour organisation (DLO)
Part of a council that delivers services such as highways and building maintenance and construction. Created under compulsory competitive tendering in the early 1980s to create a split between the customer (the council) and the service provider (the DLO), which allowed the DLO to bid fairly for services alongside private sector companies.

Direct payments
Money given to individuals to pay for care services on the basis of a community care needs assessment.

Direct service organisation (DSO)
Provides council services such as catering, cleaning and refuse collection. Similar to direct labour organisations, but created later, under a fresh round of compulsory competitive tendering legislation in the late 1980s.

Directly elected mayor
Powerful council leader chosen by the public rather than other councillors. Has wide ranging powers over the day to day running of a council, but still needs to pass his or her policies through full council.

Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Sets minimum standards that demand that public buildings and private companies providing a public service make their service accessible to disabled people. Also contains legislation to prevent discrimination against job candidates based on their disability. Recently updated to include educational establishments.

Disability rights commission (DRC)
Independent body set up by the government to help secure civil rights for disabled people. Advises the government as well as campaigning to encourage good practice, eliminate discrimination and promote equality.

Disability team
A team consisting of social work managers and occupational therapist care managers who work with people with physical disabilities and older people.

Disasters emergency committee (DEC)
An umbrella organisation of charities and aid agencies that launch swift, high profile, coordinated fundraising campaigns in response to famines and humanitarian disasters. Members include ActionAid, the British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International UK, Children's Aid Direct, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision UK.

District audit
Arm of the audit commission responsible for ensuring that local government and the health service spend its £100bn budget wisely.

Donor fatigue
Usually denotes a drop in donated income for charities and voluntary organisations because the public appears to be satiated with the issue in question. Most of those who would donate on a particular issue, for example in response to a disaster, have done, and those who have not will be unlikely to respond to further appeals. Also refers to donors becoming 'immune' to certain fundraising methods.

Donors' charter
Initiative from the Institute of Fundraising to try to boost public confidence in fundraising. It's a statement of principle setting out a fundraiser's commitment to donors, laying down the standards a donor can expect before, during and after the donation, whether it is loose change or a substantial sum committed over many years. It includes a complaints procedure.

Dowry
Some council housing is in such a poor state that it costs more to repair than it would to sell. A dowry is paid for such homes to be sold off or transferred to a housing association to give the homes a positive value.

Drug action team (DAT)
Local multi-agency partnership that operates the government's drugs strategy at a local level. Usually includes police, social services, health authority and voluntary sector groups.

Dual diagnosis
This term refers to coexisting diagnoses of mental illness and drug or alcohol abuse. It covers cases where someone with a mental illness is subsequently diagnosed with an addiction that aggravates their condition, such as cannabis use on top of schizophrenia. Conversely, it may refer to someone whose drug addiction leads to mental illness, as may happen with long-term use of amphetamines or cocaine.

Duty officer
A social worker or occupational therapist who can be contacted by the public during normal office hours.

Egan compliant
A public building project that conforms to the recommendations of Sir John Egan set out in an influential report in 1998, called Rethinking Construction. It called for an end to traditional bricks and mortar building in favour of modern techniques such as factory built homes. It also called for a new system of cooperative approach between clients and builders to avoid costly legal rows that have dogged many public building projects.

Elective operation
Planned - ie non-emergency - operations (such as hip replacements, varicose vein treatment, hernias and cataract removal). Also known as routine operations or 'cold surgery'.

Electronic patient record
A record, avaiable electronically, containing a patient's personal details (name, date of birth etc), their diagnosis or condition and details about the treatment/assessments undertaken by a clinician. Typically covers the episodic care provided mainly by one institution. All acute trusts are expected to have an electronic patient record system by 2005.

Emergency protection order
A court order granted under section 44 of the Children Act 1989 on the grounds that a child will suffer significant harm unless they are removed to council accommodation or moved from where they are currently living.

Employee volunteering
When employers encourage and support their staff to volunteer in the local community. The employer supports employees by, for example, giving them time off, matching their funding and allowing them to use office equipment.

Employers' Organisation
Body that represents local government bosses in national pay negotiations and supports councils in their human resources role. Provides expert advice and information on people management and development.

Employment zones
Government scheme to help long-term unemployed who are over 25 years old. The initiative, which is confined to selected deprived areas, involves pooling funds for training, employment service support and money that would otherwise be spent on benefit.

Empowerment
Enabling people to take responsibility for themselves and helping them to make decisions about their own lives.

Empty Homes Agency
Government-funded housing charity that campaigns to bring around 800,000 homes in Britain back into use.

Enabling state
The enabling state is the phrase used to describe the process whereby responsibility for delivering public services traditionally provided by the state is passed to private or voluntary organisations (or 'arms length' government agencies). Underpinning this is the idea that smaller, local and specialist providers are more effective and efficient at delivering publicly-funded services than large centralised bureaucracies (such as the NHS). Thus the prime minister Tony Blair in his speech to the Labour party conference in October 2002 said: 'Just as mass production has departed from industry, so the monolithic provision of services has to depart from the public sector. People want an individual service for them. They want Government under them not over them. They want Government to empower them, not control them... Out goes the Big State. In comes the Enabling State.'

English cities fund
A private company created by the government's regeneration agency, English Partnerships, that invests in new mixed-use developments on the edges of towns and city centres. Initially worth around £100m it was set up to help meet government targets to secure more developments on brownfield sites by attracting private finance into neglected areas.

English Heritage
Government agency that promotes and conserves England's historic environment, including buildings, monuments and landscapes. It awards grants for conservation, keeps a register of historic buildings and has to be consulted on planning decisions that affect the historic environment.

English Partnerships
The government's land and regeneration agency, most famous for its role in the Millennium Dome project. It was set up to encourage the development of derelict and contaminated land.

Enterprise zones
Designated areas in deprived towns and cities where businesses can get exemptions from certain taxes, planning rules and other bureaucratic burdens in an effort to stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

Epidemiology
A branch of medical science concerned with the occurrence, distribution and control of diseases in populations. Epidemiologists collect and examine medical data and spot health trends to establish which diseases are on the increase and where, which treatments work and which do not.

Equity loan
A lump sum paid to help people buy a home. The loan is only repaid when the property is eventually sold. Repayment is based on the amount that was initially borrowed. For example if the loan represented a third of the value of the home when it was bought, a third of the value of the home will have to be repaid when the home is sold.

Equity stake
Government plan first set out in Labour's 2001 manifesto to give council and housing association tenants a share or stake in the value of their homes. Details have yet to be worked out, but the idea is to give those renting the financial benefits associated with property owning.

Estate management board (EMB)
Tenant-run organisation that oversees the management of a social housing estate, but not the ownership of the estate.

Estates renewal challenge fund
Initiative launched by the Conservative government to encourage councils to sell off or transfer poor quality homes to housing associations. The scheme, offered councils cash incentives or dowries for the repair of the homes, if tenants voted in favour of transfer. It was scrapped by Labour in 1998 because it was too costly, but in 2004 the government revived the idea of housing dowries in a new scheme that it called 'gap funding'.

Ethical fundraising
Refers to the ongoing dilemma of where a charity gets its money from, and the methods it uses. Charities have, for example, been criticised for receiving large donations from arms companies, and companies involved in sweatshop labour in the developing world.

Ethical investment
Refers to the debate surrounding the investment of charity funds and the holding of company shares by charities. Campaigners say charities should not earn money from ethically unsound companies such as arms firms. Ethical investment includes screening out certain shareholdings, or using large shareholdings to influence a company. Charity law allows charities to screen out shareholdings in companies whose activities contradict their purposes or if the risk to their reputation among donors is too high.

European social fund
Government fund established under the EU employment strategy that contributes up to 45% of money needed to establish projects that will improve employability and human resources in a given area, as a strategy for tackling social exclusion. Funding is distributed under Objectives 1, 2 and 3, depending on the level of disadvantage in the region.

Evidence-based healthcare
The systematic analysis of data to assess the clinical and cost- effectiveness of treatments. 'The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research,' (Sackett, DL et al. BMJ, 1996).This process underpins, for example, the work of the national institute for clinical excellence, which decides the technologies and treatments that should be made available on the NHS.

Excellent council
A category in the local government league table system for councils that provide high quality services, have effective leadership and management and are good at maintaining high performance. The audit commission, which draws up the tables, says excellent councils should have clear priorities, well-managed finances and will often work in partnership with outside agencies. Of the 150 larger councils, 22 were ranked in this category in 2002. These local authorities get access to a range of new freedoms from Whitehall control and a light touch programme of inspections.

Executive
A group of up to 10 councillors that controls the day-to-day running of a council. Made up either of a Westminster-style cabinet with a leader elected by the council, a mayor with a cabinet or a mayor and a powerful city manager.

Exempt charities
Charities that are exempt from the authority of the charity commission for England and Wales because they are considered to be adequately supervised by, or accountable to, some other body or authority. Examples include grant maintained schools, friendly societies and housing associations.

Face to face fundraising
The fundraising technique where teams of bib-wearing young people stop passers by in the street and urge them to sign up to give to charity by direct debit. The street teams are controversial - opponents cite the hassle factor and brand the fundraisers 'charity muggers' or 'chuggers'. But charities and fundraising organisations say it is effective, especially as it encourages committed giving - regular donations - rather than a one off gift. The draft charities bill includes measures that will regulate the face to face teams for the first time - they are not covered by current law on street collections of cash.

fair
good

Fair council
A category in the local government league table system that covers councils that provide reasonable services but need to improve if they are to deliver consistent and reliable standards. The performance of their services often outstrips their ability to improve those services. Of the 150 larger councils, 39 were ranked in this category in 2002.

Family centre
A therapeutic setting where one or both parents attend with their children as part of a family support strategy to help a family under stress stay together.

Family placement team
Social services teams responsible for organising adoption and fostering.

Flats over shops
A grant scheme to bring empty homes above shops back into use. Particularly encouraged in regeneration schemes aimed at reviving run down town centres.

Flexible tenure
A type of shared ownership housing under which people can vary the stake in the ownership of their home according to their circumstances.

Floor
Part of the local government finance system that guarantees a minimum increase in a council's funding every year. Set at 4% in 2002-3 for councils that deliver education and social services, and at inflation for smaller district councils.

Floor targets
Minimum standards set by the government for improvements in deprived areas, intended as a test for its neighbourhood renewal policy. The targets cover five areas: unemployment, crime, education, health and the environment.

Formula spending shares (FSS)
The method the government uses to distribute more than £50bn to councils across England. Allocates money according to the number of people a council serves with top-up grants to recognise factors like deprivation, sparsity and wage costs. Unveiled in 2002, this system replaced the complex and unpopular standard spending assessment.

Foundation trusts
The health secretary, Alan Milburn's Big Idea: giving top performing hospitals 'foundation' status will allow them access to a range of management freedoms: released from direct Whitehall control, they would have (to name just two examples) more leeway to borrow money for capital investment; and the ability to vary local pay and conditions. This, the theory goes, will unleash local innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and drive up hospital performance and efficiency. Critics claim that this will lead to a two-tier system in which 'elite' NHS hospitals get more resources at the expense of failing hospitals. Although they will be at 'arms length' from the Department of Health, foundation organisations (primary care trusts will also be able to apply for foundation status) will remain part of the NHS, and must invest any 'profits' they make back in to patient services. Subject to legislation, the first foundation trusts would become fully operational in April 2004.

Foundations
The umbrella body for home improvement agencies.

Foyers
A French idea aimed at tackling homelessness and unemployment in the same place by providing accommodation and training for young people under one roof.

Franchising
NHS franchising involves identifying the top NHS managers and appointing them to the 'biggest challenges', whether failing trusts, key modernisation initiatives, or strategic health authorities. The 'franchise' bid for a top job will involve the management team - from the private, voluntary or public sector - producing a business plan and operational strategies and appointing its own top team.

Freehold
Exclusive ownership of property for an indefinite period. In contrast with leasehold, which is the right to occupy property for a fixed term.

Friendly society
Financial services and insurance organisation that is wholly owned by its members so profits stay within the organisation rather than going to outside shareholders. Often arranged around local areas, charities, employers or religious/cultural groups.