Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Policy Cycle
Part 1
- What is Public Policy?
- The outcome of formal politics
- Set of ideas/proposals for
action, culminating in a
government decision
- Implemented at all
levels, from EU to
local gov.
- Can be made at
one level and
implemented at
another
- Can be made on
a territorial basis
- E.g. Scottish
Parliament
implement
policing policy,
police
themselves
decide how to
put policy into
practice
- Policies on areas such
as housing, education,
paternity leave,
immigration etc.
- Stage 1: Agenda
Setting
- John Kingdon- 3
streams that need
to conjoin
- Recognition of a problem (problem stream)
- Identification of
possible solution
(policy stream)
- The requisite
opportunities, time,
accession to power of a
party prepared to act
(political stream)
- Stage where
politicians try to get
public and crucial
sectors to see the issue
in the way they desire
- Need assurance
that their idea
has public suport
- Not all
proposals can
be taken
further, so
having proof of
public support
is an advantage
- The media have a
massive impact on
public support, and in
turn, whether a policy
is considered or not
- E.g. Michael Buerk,
television newsreader,
showed famine and chaos
in Ehtiopia, which
initiated action from UK
gov.
- Politicians can use
media to their
advantage, to almost
twist the arms of the
government
- E.g. Tony Blair stating on
television that fox hunting
WOULD be banned in 1999
- Media effects the climate
in which policy is
discussed
- Rupert Murdoch was
thought to advise Tony Blair
to a degree, due to regular
visits to Downing Street, all
greeted with warm welcome
- 6 main
initiators
- General
Public
- Cause
groups,
media,
academics
- Extra parliamentary
parties, party
groupings
- Party groupings-
parliamentary think tanks
such as Fabian Society
(West wing) and The
Institute for Public Policy
Research (Labour think
tank, consistently
presenting research and
feeding into ideas
- Parliament, party
sources, select
committees and
Opposition
- Ministers, civil servants.
inquiries, key economic
groups, think tanks
- Prime Minister Cabinet,
Cabinet Office Policy Unit,
Policy Advisers
- Policy
Formulation
- Detailed examination and
elaboration after agenda
receives political
endorsement
- Key players in this
stage
- Civil Servants
- Pressure Group Leaders
- Media and academic experts
- Ministers
- Learning phase, where civil servants
and ministers acquaint themselves with
detail of the measure, close contact
with practitioners and experts in
necessary fields
- The bureaucratic process
- Numerous
information
gathering and
advisory
committee
meetings
- Sequences of
coordinating
meetings with other
ministries, e.g. if
finance is involved
then meetings with
the Treasury
- The Legislative
Process
- Readings and
debates in both
chambers
- Influences the shape
the legislation takes
- Politicians must have clear and stated
points to be successful in their debates
- Decision Making
- A decision will be made
over whether to
implement a certain
policy
- Policy is set out in a bill
before House of
Commons and the
House of Lords
- However the House of
Lords can only delay most
bills for a year
- Constraints on
Policy Makers
- They are accountable to
the public an under
constant scrutiny
- Powerful and influential pressure
groups breathe down the neck of
policy makers, as a way to reach
their ends
- Financial
Resources-operate
realistically within
financial limits
- Political support-
necessary to gain
endorsement for a
policy idea, resistance
to policies can kill
them off en route- e.g.
poll tax
- Competence of
key personnel
- Time constraints
- Timing- if timing isn't
good then policy will
fail, a good time is
considered to be after a
General Election
- Coordination of the
policy between various
departments
- Geographical bias