Devolved Policy for People with Learning Difficulties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Abstract

When discussing health and social care policy in the United Kingdom, there is often a focus on England, largely due to the historic power of Westminster. This chapter seeks to overview the policies of the different Parliaments of the UK, thus redressing the balance. Indeed it is argued that there is a lot for Westminster to learn from policymaking influenced by local and regional issues. Defining what exactly makes up the UK is contested. Payne and Shardlow (2002, p. 21) point out that the ‘historical entanglement of the countries of the British Isles has left a complex set of interwoven constitutional arrangements’. For the purposes of this chapter, the UK is described as the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The picture is actually more complicated than this when considering the partnerships and effects of other crown dominions such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The Isle of Man Parliament, the Tynwald, predates the Parliament at Westminster and was a construction of earlier ties with Norway, whilst Eire has embraced the EU to the extent of adopting the euro. Our history within the British Isles is therefore highly complex.