News
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Professor Williams to give Australian seminar
Professor Williams talked about the European Social Platform – the voice of civil society in Europe – and its presentation of recommendations on care in December 2011. She explained how the ESP vision promoted a holistic approach to care policies and practices, informed by the ethics of care, and argued that providing and receiving care were fundamental human rights.
In her seminar, she developed these ideas further to consider the criteria for an adequate conceptualisation of care as a social good. This adequacy will draw on key developments in social movement and equality theory, and its criteria will include the capacity to shape a new politics of care.
The seminar was held in the John Goodsell room 221/223 (building F20) at 12.30pm, until 2pm.
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Professor Williams speaks at Social Platform conference
Professor Fiona Williams addressed delegates and members of the European Commission, including Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Laszlo Andor, at the Platform of European Social NGOs (Social Platform) conference in the International Auditorium in Brussels on 9 December 2011.
Professor Williams spoke about the care policy recommendations prepared by Social Platform, whose vision of care proposes a holistic and integrated approach to care policies and practices that respects the fundamental right to receive support in the giving and receiving of care.
Social Platform thanked Professor Williams for offering guidance, challenges and support in the development of the proposals over the last two and a half years.
Social Platform is an alliance of representative European federations and networks of non-governmental organisations active in the social sector.
Further information
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New Report: ‘New Approaches to Supporting Carers’ Health and Well-being’
CIRCLE is pleased to announce the publication of its latest report ‘New Approaches to Supporting Carers’ Health and Well-being’, which was presented at a one day conference at the Park Plaza Hotel in Leeds on Wednesday 16 November 2011.
The Department of Health funded project studied the impact and effectiveness of 25 multi-agency projects set up to explore new and innovative ways of supporting carers through carers’ breaks, health checks and NHS support.
- Summary Report [PDF: 545KB]
- Full Report [PDF: 1.33MB]
- Press Release [PDF: 357KB]
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Conference: Achieving Recognition and Support for Carers, 16 November 2011, Park Plaza, Leeds
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Park Plaza Hotel, LeedsCIRCLE, in association with the Department of Health, held the 'Achieving Recognition and Support for Carers' conference and provided a forum to discuss the findings of CIRCLE's evaluation of the National Carers' Strategy Demonstrator Sites programme and an opportunity for participants to contribute to the Department of Health's 'Caring for our Future: shared ambitions for care and support' engagement process, announced by Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow on 15 September 2011.
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N8 Research sees economic hope in a growing, ageing population
Today sees the publication of a report by a research team that included experts from the universities of Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, including Gary Fry and Lisa Buckner from CIRCLE.
- Universities see economic hope in growing, ageing and more diverse north, The Guardian, 15 September 2011.
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New CIRCLE publication for DWP
A new research report that looks at the recipients of Carer’s Allowance will be published today by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The research was led by Dr Gary Fry and Professor Sue Yeandle, and explores Carer’s Allowance recipients’ caring responsibilities, their experiences of combining care with paid employment and support mechanisms used to manage their caring roles.
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CIRCLE report finds unpaid carers save £119 billion
Unpaid Carers save £119 billion a year
Soaring value of family care outstrips total cost of the NHS
New estimates, calculated by charity Carers UK and the University of Leeds, show the care provided by friends and family members to ill, frail or disabled relatives is now worth a staggering £119 billion every year.
- The figure has risen by over a third since the 2007 estimate, which stood at £87 billion.
- Carers’ contribution now far outstrips the total cost of the NHS (£98.8 billion).
- The figure amounts to £2.3 billion per week and £326 million per day.
New estimates show that there are around 6.4 million people in the UK providing care for ill or disabled loved ones that would otherwise cost the state £18 an hour, meaning that each carer saves on average £18,473 a year.
Given this massive contribution, Carers UK argues that society must do more to support growing numbers of carers.
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CIRCLE welcomes Raquel Martinez-Bujan
Raquel Martinez-Bujan, a Visiting Research Fellow from the University of A Coruna, Spain, is visiting CIRCLE for three months from 6 May 2011.
Raquel is a Senior Lecturer and is developing her research interests in the ESOMI - Research Team on Sociology of Migrations, coordinated by Professor Antonio Izquierdo.
Her PhD research, published by the CSIC, is entitled "Welfare and Care: a business of love" and is a qualitative analysis on immigrant women within domestic service that care for elderly people in Spain.
Her work focuses on care-providing strategies for the elderly in the Autonomous Regions of Spain and studies the relationship between local care policies and national care policies, analysing how national welfare states are structured in different welfare states.
Her main research question: Is it possible to distinguish different types of local care policy regimes within welfare states?
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CIRCLE secures funding for knowledge base
CIRCLE has secured funding for their research "The Potential of Assisted Living Technologies for Older People at Home: creating a knowledge base for businesses developing technology for dementia and falls" from The Assisted Living Innovation Platform: Technology Strategy Board and ESRC.
The project runs from May 2011 to April 2014.
More information
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Australian Professor Deb Brennan on PASEC visit to Fiona Williams
Professor Deb Brennan from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Australia, visited Fiona Williams between 28 April and 4 May 2011, and will do so again from 9 May to 11 May 2011.
Together, they edited the papers for the PASEC group's activity and also discussed the paper for the Journal of European Social Policy (JESP) Special Issue which they both are currently editing.
More information
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Canadian Professor Rianne Mahon visits Fiona Williams
Professor Rianne Mahon from the Institute of Public Policy at the University of Carleton, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, visited Fiona Williams from 18 to 22 April as part of JESP/PASEC work.
Political and Social Economy of Care in a Globalising World (PASEC)
Fiona Williams and Sue Yeandle are working as partners with a new international research group, PASEC funded by REASSESS, the Nordic Centre of Excellence: reassessing in the Nordic welfare model.
The team, of which Rianne is a member, are working on a number of collaborative activities and envisage an outcome in the form of an edited book or a journal special issue.
More information
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Sue Yeandle gives trio of talks in Canada
Professor Sue Yeandle attended the Strategic Planning Meeting of the Global Social Inititative on Ageing (GSIA) in Edmonton on 29-31 March 2011 (see photo) with thirteen world-renowned social scientists. She leads CIRCLE's participation in this network.
She was invited to give a public lecture at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, on 4 April 2011, where she spoke about "Making care-giving count: the UK experience of raising the profile of family caregivers".
She gave a speech to the Edmonton Employer Forum, University of Alberta, on 5 April 2011, "Care-giving and employment in the UK: policy frameworks and the business case".
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Sue Yeandle presents seminars in Australia
Professor Sue Yeandle has been on study leave in Australia, visiting the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
At a public seminar on 1 March, Professor Yeandle presented "Caring for sick and disabled children: policies, services and support in the UK" at the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Professor Yeandle gave a keynote presentation "Policies, Practices and Challenges in Supporting Carers in Paid Work in the UK", on 14 March at an International Seminar on Research & Policy on Care in Liberal and Social Democracies: Australia, UK & Finland at the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.
On 16 March she gave an address entitled "Scratching Below the Surface of Gender Equality: understanding how local labour markets fail women" at a seminar for the Women and Work Research Group, Work and Organisation Studies, at the University of Sydney.
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Australian radio interviews Fiona Williams
Professor Fiona Williams recently appeared on two Australian radio programmes where she discussed her research into migrant women carers.
She spoke on ABC Radio's Life Matters programme, and Mornings with Margaret Throsby on ABC Classic FM.
Professor Williams was in Australia as part of her visiting professorship in the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, a role she will hold from 2011 to 2016.
Listen again
Migrant women carers - Life Matters on ABC Radio [MP3: 5.2MB]
Mornings with Margaret Throsby - ABC classic FM [MP3: 38.2MB]
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Fiona Williams gives Australian lecture
Professor Fiona Williams gave a lecture entitled "Who Cares? Migrant Workers in the Transnational Care Economy" at University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney on 24 February 2010.
She spoke about the dynamics behind international "care chains" and "care drains" caused by women workers migrating from poorer regions of the world to do care and domestic work in richer countries.
Drawing from her own research, she explained the personal and political consequences of this phenomenon, and argued that it posed a major challenge for global justice.
Professor Williams holds a visiting professorship between 2011 and 2016 in the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW, and her lecture formed part of the "So, what? Public lectures in contemporary humanities and social sciences" series.
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MP speaks at CIRCLE discussion
Rachel Reeves MP spoke at a Circle-hosted roundtable discussion entitled "Gender analysis of current economic policy: public expenditure, taxation and welfare reform" on Friday 25 February 2011.
Ms Reeves has been the Labour Party's spokewoman on pensions since October 2010, and is the MP for Leeds West.
Circle hosted the discussion in co-ordination with The Centre for Work, Care and Global Transitions (WCGT) and the Centre for Global Development, and took place in the Circle boardroom in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.
Professor Ruth Pearson chaired the debate. Speakers included Professor Diane Elson (University of Essex), Professor Jay Ginn (Kings College London, Institute of Gerontology), and Professor Sue Himmelweit (Open University).
More information
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Professors join Australian Government Advisory Panel
Fiona Williams and Sue Yeandle have been appointed as international advisors on the Australian Government's Gender Panel in gender-related research for Australian Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA).
This is a further development in CIRCLE's research collaboration has with the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.
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