What is 'social policy'?

Policy can be seen as

• Stated Intention
• Current or Past Action
• Organisational Practice
• An Indicator of Status of Past, Present or Proposed action

Attributes of Policy

• Policy 'belongs' to someone, some group or organisation
• It denotes a commitment to act in a certain way
• It confers status on actions or statements of intent
• Policies are intended to be specific responses to stated problems- politicians usually try to distinguish their policies on specific issues from other policies and those of other political parties

Policies in Practice