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

Red-lining
A practice by mortgage lenders of refusing to lend money to would-be home buyers in designated areas because of their fears that homes will be difficult to sell and that people will default on loans. Most red-lining occurs in deprived areas where there is a high proportion of social housing.

Reference costs
The national schedule of reference costs itemises the cost of individual treatments across the NHS in areas of major hospital activity (eg hip operations), allowing trusts to compare costs with similar providers and become more efficient.

Referral
A request for help for someone in need of an assessment, usually written down in brief notes. These are usually made on behalf of someone else by a third party, for example a social worker for a service user, or a GP for a patient.

Region
England has nine official government administrative regions: north-east, north-west, Yorkshire and Humberside, East and West Midlands, east of England, south-west, south-east and London.

Regional assembly-chamber
Made of councillors and representatives from the private and voluntary sectors, England's eight regional chambers and assemblies were set up in 1999 to scrutinise the work of the country's eight regional development agencies.

Regional coordination unit
National headquarters for the government offices of the regions, the RCU was formed to ensure that a range of government programmes are delivered coherently at a local and regional level.

Regional government
Ministers have pledged to create elected regional parliaments in parts of the country that vote for it in a referendum. It has been reported that a test vote could be held in the north-east, the most enthusiastic region, by the end of Tony Blair's second term.

Regional venture capital fund
Provides funding of up to £500,000 to help small and medium sized enterprises develop their business. The fund was established by the government to tackle an 'equity gap' at the lower end of the market that leaves smaller businesses without access to venture capital money. It relies heavily on private sector funding and is run on a commercial basis.

Register of friendly societies
The Financial Services Authority is responsible for registering and overseeing friendly societies, and registration is similar to charity registration. The register itself can be inspected at Companies House.

Registered charity
Organisations that have charitable purposes can register with the charity commission to become a registered charity, a legal status strictly governed by charity law.

Registered social landlord (RSL)
The official name for housing associations, housing cooperatives and local housing companies that are registered with the housing corporation. The term, which is unpopular with many in the housing association sector, was introduced in the 1996 Housing Act when local housing companies were introduced. Social landlords need to register with the corporation to qualify for grants to build new homes.

Regulatory code
A new code introduced in 2002 by the housing corporation to regulate housing associations, which is based on self-assessment. It replaces a previously unpopular regime that housing associations claimed was too prescriptive. The new code is intended to focus on what housing associations achieve rather than how they achieve it.

Remuneration committee
Body set up in larger charities to set pay and conditions of employees, especially chief executives and senior staff. Often includes independent members from outside the charity.

Rent guarantee
A formal promise given to tenants about future rent rises. Rent guarantees are usually offered to council tenants who are being asked to support the transfer of their homes to a housing association. They usually last no more than five years because of the uncertainty about housing finances.

Rent reform
Controversial 10-year plan that began in 2002 to restructure council and housing associations' rent to ensure they are roughly on the same footing. By the end of the process, all affordable rents should be based on a formula that gives a 70% weighting to regional earnings and 30% to capital values. As a result of the plans, rents in high value areas will go up - causing concerns for tenants - and rents in low value areas will go down - prompting concerns about the financial viability of some housing associations.

Rent service
A team of around 900 rent officers and administrators whose main job is to determine whether housing benefit claimants are being charged too much rent by their landlords.

Reserves
The term 'reserves' has a variety of technical and ordinary meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. The charity commission uses the term 'reserves' to describe that part of a charity's income funds that is freely available for its general purposes. 'Reserves' are therefore the resources the charity has or can make available to spend, for any or all of the charity's purposes, once it has met its commitments and covered its planned expenditure.

Residential family centre
A centre in which a family lives for a set period. Children remain under their parents' care while living in the centre.

Residential home
A category of homes that provide personal care and other services and whose work has to be monitored by local authority registration and inspection units.

Respite care
Care provided by a day or residential centre or by a family as much for the benefit of the carers as for the person concerned.

Restraint
Control to prevent a person from harming themselves or other people. This can be applied by physical means - actual or threatened laying of hands on a person; mechanical means - for example, strapping someone into a chair; or medication - such as sedatives or tranquillisers.

Restricted funds
Restricted funds are those donated to a charity that are subject to specific requirements which may be declared by the donor(s), for example to a cancer charity for breast cancer research. Or they might be restricted by the charity, for example, for a specific appeal.

Retail price index (RPI)
Measure of inflation used by the government to set benefit and tax allowance levels and to regulate council and housing association rents.

Right to acquire
A scheme to give former council tenants whose homes have transferred to housing associations the right to buy their homes at a discount. The scheme, which was introduced in 1996, only applies to homes that were transferred after April 1997. The discounts of between £9,000 and £16,000 are paid by the housing corporation.

Right to buy (RTB)
One of the key measures introduced under Margaret Thatcher's government - it gives council tenants the right to buy their homes with generous discounts. The popular but controversial measure was introduced in 1980. Since then, the number of council homes for rent has been cut by more than a million. Discounts available were reduced by the Labour government in 1998 to up to £38,000. In 2003 discounts were cut to £16,000 in 41 property hotspots in a bid to protect the dwindling supply of affordable homes.

Right to buy abuses
Various legal ruses that exploit loopholes in the rules governing the sale of council homes. Under one type council tenants are encouraged to buy their discounted homes with the offer of additional cash incentives from property companies. In return the former tenants agree to move out as soon as the home is purchased, so that the companies can let the properties to new tenants at market rents. Under another ruse councils that earmark homes for demolition can face an influx of right to buy applications from tenants who know they will be entitled to generous compensation packages when the homes are pulled down. In 2003 the government attempted to stamp out some of abuses.

Ringfencing
The government's practice of earmarking for national priorities parts of the funding it gives organisations such as councils and hospitals - effectively telling those organisations how to spend some of their money. At present, money is ringfenced for spending in areas such as mental health and education.

Risk management
A systematic approach to reducing loss of life, financial loss, loss of staff availability, safety, or loss or reputation.

Rough sleepers unit
Group set up under the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions in 1999 to reduce rough sleeping in England and Wales by two-thirds over three years. Claimed to have reached its target nearly six months early at Christmas 2001, though the strategy and figures have been criticised.

Rural exceptions policy
A planning power available to councils in rural areas where there is a demonstrable lack of affordable housing. It gives them the right to grant planning permission to affordable homes in countryside areas where there is normally a ban on new housing.

Schedule 1
Antisleaze section of the 1996 Housing Act that is designed to uphold probity in housing associations and in particular to prevent conflicts of interests. If a housing association breaches schedule 1, it faces supervision from the housing corporation.

Schizophrenia
A major mental disorder that affects about one in every hundred people. Although the symptoms vary from person to person, most people find it adversely affects their day to day lives at some stage. People with schizophrenia find it difficult to work as well as they did before because their thoughts are jumbled and unclear, so they have trouble concentrating. They may become so preoccupied with their thoughts and feelings that they fail to take care of themselves, not even eating or sleeping. Common symptoms include hearing voices (often referred to as auditory hallucinations) and unusual beliefs or delusions. The condition is predominantly treated with antipsychotic medication but psychological therapies have also proved effective in managing the symptoms.

Scottish charity law
Scotland is not covered by the same charity law as England and Wales and the charity commission's writ does not run north of the border. But Scottish charity law is going through a shake-up similar to that proposed for England and Wales. The Scottish Executive has published the draft charities and trustee investment (Scotland) bill, which will put public benefit at the centre of a new definition of charity. The recently established Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator will have responsibility for granting charitable status.

Scrutiny committee
Group of councillors that reviews and investigates local authority services and other issues, monitors the work of a mayor or cabinet and holds members of the executive to account for their decisions. Introduced by the Local Government Act 2000.

Secondary care
Specialist care, typically provided in a hospital setting or following referral from a primary or community health professional.

Section 114 notice
Issued by council finance officials when they believe that their organisation's bank balance will go into deficit by the end of the financial year. Freezes spending until councillors meet to decide on corrective action.

Section 151 officer
Legal requirement that councils must appoint a named accountant to give them financial advice. The accountant in question is usually a local authority chief finance officer, director of finance or treasurer.

Section 17
Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area.

Section 28
Piece of local government legislation that prohibits the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools. Introduced in 1988, section 28 has never actually been enforced, but it remains a controversial issue in Westminster where traditionalist Tories are fighting to retain the legislation against Labour attempts at repeal.

Section 47
Under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities must make inquiries about children suspected of being at risk, so they can decide whether they need to take further action to protect and promote the child's welfare.

Sectioned
The term sectioned refers to the powers in the Mental Health Act 1983 that allow the detention of people who are suffering from mental disorders. Initially, an approved social worker or close relative can apply to have a person detained for assessment based on the recommendations of two doctors - one of which must be a qualified psychiatrist. The grounds for the application are set out under different sections of the act. Under section two, the doctors must confirm that the person is suffering from a mental disorder to a degree that warrants medical care and attention. They must be satisfied that the patient should be detained for their own health or safety, or to protect others. Section two allows detention for up to 28 days. But section three allows patients to be held for six months at first, then for a year at a time. Under this section, the mental disorder that the patient is suffering from must be specified, as well as any treatment proposed. Section four covers emergency cases and enables one doctor to order a person to 'rest' in hospital for 72 hours. Patients can be compulsorily treated - including with medication - under sections two, three and four. Patients are free to leave hospital when it is deemed they have made a recovery, or if the section order comes to an end.

Secure tenancy
The standard form of tenancy given to almost all council tenants. It gives tenants more protection against eviction than the assured tenancy used by housing associations.

Self-assessment
A means by which people set out their own estimation of their needs for support, usually on a standardised form.

Self-harm
Self-harm is not the same as attempted suicide. Only about a quarter of people seen in casualty with deliberately self-inflicted injuries have tried to kill themselves. It is a common misconception that the rest are simply 'attention seekers'. However, people who self-harm often believe this is the only way to express their distress as they are too traumatised to talk about it. About 10% of admissions to medical wards in the UK are as a result of self-harm. It is the commonest single cause of acute medical admission to hospital for women, and second only to heart disease in men. Methods of self-harm vary, but the majority of cases admitted to hospital are for drug overdoses - only 5-15% are caused by cutting.

Self-help group
A group of people with similar problems who get together for mutual support and to campaign for improved services.

Sensory impairment
A loss or absence of ability to hear or see, but not necessarily a complete loss.

Service charge
An extra charge for tenants in addition to their rent made by landlords for communal facilities and services. Service charges are particularly common in the supported housing sector.

Service level agreements
Agreement between organisations and/or agencies setting out how services must be provided, what their standards will be and how monitoring will take place.

Service user
An individual who uses, requests, applies for, or benefits from health or local authority services. They may also be referred to as a client, patient or consumer.

Shared ownership
A housing association scheme that is a cross between owning your own home and renting it. The scheme is aimed at helping people to buy a home who could not otherwise afford to do so. Typically occupiers pay a subsidised rent to the housing association for half of the home, and a mortgage on the other half that they own.

Sheltered housing
Accommodation especially designed for older people supported by a range of communal services, such as 24-hour emergency assistance and a warden.

Shopping incentives
The concept behind a long-term plan to reform housing benefit. In Britain, unlike other European countries, housing benefit covers up to 100% of tenants' rents. Ministers want to scrap this system by forcing all tenants of working age to pay something towards the cost of their rent as way to encourage tenants to shop around for cheaper housing.

Short life housing
Homes let on a temporary basis to relieve the pressure in areas where long-term housing is in short supply. The homes involved are typically scheduled for demolition or extensive repair.

Silo
Term used to describe a council department that does not work effectively with other parts of the organisation and outside service providers. Thought to reduce organisational effectiveness and is the enemy of 'joined-up' government.

Single regeneration budget (SRB)
Now discontinued as a national scheme, the SRB was created in 1994 to narrow the gap between deprived and wealthy areas by funding local regeneration initiatives. Local partnerships of community, voluntary and business groups received money for schemes that aimed to improve employment prospects, address social exclusion and crime, and support economic growth.

Small business service
Government agency charged with promoting the interests of small businesses and providing them with a world-class support service. Its mission is to help make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

Social economy
Term refers to the activity in financial as well as human terms, of the voluntary, charity, campaign and social sector in the UK. The value placed on this is sometimes referred to as social capital.

Social enterprise
Defined in the 2002 charity law reform blueprint produced by the prime minister's strategy unit as 'organisations which, like mainstream businesses, trade in order to build long-term sustainability, but which operate for a social purpose and use their profits for this end.'

Social entrepreneurs
Individuals who are prime movers in improving or promoting social enterprises, which are democratically organised, ethical businesses with clear aims beneficial to society. There is also a school for social entrepreneurs set up by the late Lord Young.

Social exclusion
This term is used to describe people or areas that suffer from a combination of factors that include unemployment, high crime, low incomes and poor housing. The government's approach to regeneration is based on tackling the problems posed by social exclusion as a whole, rather than simply focusing on its individual elements.

Social exclusion unit (SEU)
Set up by the prime minister in December 1997 to help reduce social exclusion by producing 'joined up solutions to joined up problems'. The SEU works with government departments to research, implement and promote policies that tackle social exclusion and poverty.

Social housing grant
Public money allocated by the housing corporation to help housing associations build new homes. The grant is applied for each year for individual housing schemes and is topped up with private money borrowed by housing associations.

Social regeneration
Process of tackling the social problems that lead to deprivation, such as crime and drugs. The process is different from physical regeneration, which tackles run-down buildings and communal areas, and economic regeneration, which is aimed at creating jobs and wealth.

Social services departments
These are the local authority departments in England and Wales responsible for the provision of personal social services. Established under the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, they combined the former children's, health and welfare departments. The services they provide include social work, home care and community care.

Social services inspectorate (SSI)
Part of the social care group in the Department of Health, the SSI advises ministers and government departments on all matters relating to personal social services. It also assists local authorities, voluntary organisations and private agencies in the planning and delivery of effective and efficient social care services; runs a national programme of inspection, evaluating the quality of services provided, and monitors the implementation of government policy on social services.

Social work
The provision of personal help to resolve a range of social and economic difficulties. The term was first adopted by social theorists in the early 1900s and began to be used more widely in the 1970s following the establishment of social services departments and the British Association of Social Workers.

Sophid
See survey of prevalent HIV infected persons

Special health authorities
Health authorities with unique national supra-regional functions which cannot be effectively undertaken by other kinds of NHS bodies (eg the national institute for clinical excellence).

Specialist registrar
Junior doctor (or doctor in training) who has finished his or her basic specialist training as a house officer, and who has embarked upon higher specialist training in the area of medicine in which they wish to specialise in future. Specialist registrars can become consultants after at least six or seven years.

Staircasing
A phrase used to describe a process in which people vary the stake in the ownership of their home according to their circumstances. If a shared owner is struggling to pay their mortgage costs, they can 'staircase down' by cutting the share of the home that they own and pay for more of the home in rent. Conversely, if their income rises they could 'staircase up' by buying a bigger share in their home, or buy it outright.

Stakeholder pension
Low-cost, flexible pensions aimed at low or middle earners, often in charities and campaign organisations. Launched in April 2001, all organisations employing five or more people must offer a pension facility, either internally or externally.

Stakeholders
People who have an interest in an organisation, its activities and its achievements, including customers, partners, employees, shareholders, owners, government and regulators. Modern consultation is usually 'stakeholder focused'.

Stamp duty
A tax on property purchases currently levelled at 2.5% for properties worth more than £250,000 and 4% on those worth £500,000. As a way of encourage investment in poor neighbourhoods, it does not apply in deprived areas.

Standards fund
Ring fenced grant worth more than £1.5bn and used by the Department for Education to lever money into priorities such as literacy and numeracy. Councils have to come up with matching funding totalling more than £750m to get the full benefit of the cash.

Star ratings
The annual grading system (zero to three stars) by which NHS acute trusts are measured against a range of performance indicators (such as waiting times and ward cleanliness). The system is designed to give an illustration of their clinical and managerial effectiveness. Three star trusts are allowed more managerial freedom; zero star trusts are placed on 'probation' and given between three and 12 months to improve or face the threat of being taken over by alternative management.

Starter home initiative
A £250m government programme that ran between 2001and 2004 to help house 10,000 key workers in the south-east. The initiative was restricted to health workers, teachers and police officers. It was replaced in 2004 by the Key Worker Living programme, which is available to more public sector workers.

Statutory authority
An organisation that is required by law to provide public services and receives central or local government funding, for example health authorities and local authorities.

Statutory services
Refers to services provided by the local authority as a matter of course. Examples of statutory services include benefits, social services, hospital treatment on the NHS and schools. The debate in the voluntary sector is how far charities and voluntary organisations should provide statutory services and at what cost.

Step-in powers
According to Department of Health guidelines, NHS foundation trusts which fail to comply with the terms of their regulatory licence (such as receiving an adverse inspection report, or attracting low star ratings in annual performance scores) will be subject to step-in powers held by the trust's independent regulator. These may range from the issue of formal warning letters, to removal of a trust's management board, to - in extreme cases - the dissolution of the trust itself.

Strategic health authority
Unveiled in the Shifting the Balance of Power reforms announced in April 2001 by the health secretary, Alan Milburn, the 28 authorities (created from the 95-odd district health authorities) will from April 2002 provide strategic management support for primary care trusts and hospitals in improving NHS performance.

Streamlined committee system
Allows smaller councils to keep a more efficient version of the century-old committee style of local government, rather than adopting a mayor or cabinet.

Street warden
Government-employed wardens whose main roles are to keep urban areas clear of litter and graffiti and to deter antisocial behaviour and minor crime. Street wardens patrol in bright uniforms and carry radios to keep them in contact with the police.

Structural funds
Money from Brussels aimed at regenerating the most deprived parts of the European Union. The funds can be used for a wide range of projects, including new businesses, infrastructure, training and job creation. Governments have to match the EU's investment to take full advantage of the money.

Substance abuse
The use of a mood-altering substance in such a way that it is either socially unacceptable or impairs social, medical and/or occupational functioning.

Substance misuse
Use of substances in a manner for which they were not intended. It is often used in the same context as substance abuse.

Suicide
Suicide is intentional self-killing. This may be done directly, or as a result of neglecting to look after yourself. Since the 1960s the suicide rates have risen steeply among young people, especially young men who are four times more likely to kill themselves than young women. This is partly because of the methods most commonly used by men to kill themselves - hanging, gunshot wounds and car exhaust fumes - allow far less scope for medical treatment than those used by women (for whom poisoning is the most common).

Super caretaker
A form of management for big housing estates used in some European countries that was praised by the government's social exclusion unit, and is now increasingly used in Britain. Super caretakers are usually uniformed employees who tenants can turn to tackle not only repairs and litter on their estate, but also settling disputes and dealing with antisocial behaviour.

Supported housing
Catch-all term for accommodation for vulnerable people with care needs. Examples include sheltered housing for older people, homeless hostels, and accommodation for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems.

Supporting People
A funding system launched in 2003 to pay for the support costs of around one million vulnerable housing tenants. It is a limited annual lump sum paid direct to councils, and replaces a series of needs-based funding streams. It was originally intended to pay for relatively cheap services for groups such as rough sleepers, older people and women fleeing domestic violence. It was expected to cost no more than £750m a year. But in its first two years the annual budget ballooned to £1.8bn amid concerns that the programme was being used to subsidise more expensive care services.

Sure Start
Sure Start is a cornerstone of the government's drive to eradicate child poverty in 20 years, and to halve it within 10. It aims to improve children's life opportunities by working with parents and parents-to-be in deprived areas and providing better access to family support, advice on nurturing, health services and early learning. There are already more than 150 local Sure Start programmes across England and Wales, rising to at least 500 by 2004. Ministers are investing £580m in the scheme for the three years from April 2001.

Sustainability
Refers to moves by charities to move beyond short-term funding for their activities, to more durable and dependable funding so that work is adequately supported and expansion is possible where necessary. Strategies include selling products or services such as publications or consultancy. The NCVO has a sustainable funding project, aimed at providing advice, resources and consultation to help charities create strategies for sustainable funding.

Sustainable development
An approach to world development that aims to allow economic growth without damaging the environment or natural resources. The government has produced a strategy for ensuring sustainable development in the UK.

Telemedicine
The use of communication systems such as video and computers to provide remote diagnosis and healthcare, allowing more care to be provided in the community or at home.

Thinktank
Colloquial term which has fallen into official use to denote a research organisation that does pieces of work on specific issues, sometimes for government and other organisations, to promote specific aims and interests. The Labour government is very fond of thinktanks, and some are particularly influential at Whitehall. Examples of thinktanks include Demos, which does work on poverty and social exclusion, and Catalyst, which looks at equality and redistribution of wealth.

Third sector
Generic collective name for charity, voluntary, non government and campaigning organisations.

TimeBank
National organisation promoting volunteering and the giving of time as a donation to organisations. It provides resources for organisations, as well as running a web-based service matching time-givers' skills to organisations. In the first year since its launch in 2000, 18,000 individuals registered with TimeBank.

Trades Union Congress (TUC)
The TUC is an umbrella group for more than 70 unions. It lobbies the government on their behalf as well as supporting and arbitrating between them.

Trawling
This term refers to a controversial method used by the police to investigate allegations of abuse, usually in children's homes. Senior officers have described trawling operations as the reverse of normal police methods. Instead of starting from a crime and setting out to find the criminal, the trawling procedure starts with the suspect (or an allegation) and then attempts to find the crime. Police make unsolicited approaches to former care home residents and, through interviewing them, uncover more evidence against the original suspect or other care workers. Trawling operations have also been used to identify suspected internet paedophiles, with the police obtaining records of what websites and chatrooms they visit from internet service providers.

Triage
A process used in hospitals' emergency departments for assessing the relative needs of patients when deciding which should be given priority for treatment. The term is sometimes used in the distribution of limited resources for charitable aid and in the allocation of homes for homeless people.

Trickle transfer
The sell-off of council homes to housing associations as each home becomes vacant. Unlike the more usual method of transferring homes to housing associations in one go after a positive ballot from tenants.