Theoretical analysis – structure and structuration

As a way to further frame the structures that were in place to implement the Duty, I use Giddens’ conceptualisation of social structures and structuration to explore the ways in which the policy decisions acted as constraining or enabling factors and so develop a better understanding of the impact of changes on service users, particularly single mothers.

As discussed in section 3.3.2, Giddens uses structuration theory to explain ways in which social systems are reproduced and either continue unchanged or are transformed, theorising that agents and structures act together as a ‘duality’ with structures acting as both a medium and an outcome. Giddens theorises structures as enabling reproduction of social practices in a systemic manner⁴³¹, and constituting: “recursively organized sets of rules and resources”⁴³². ‘Rules’ are conceptualised as both memory traces within individuals which direct their actions or solidified structures which can become institutionalised over time. Examples might be an organisation’s language rules, which employees and other stakeholders internalise, moral codes or cultural expectations. Any of these might have a profound impact on general life and the way in which individuals interact.

In addition, Giddens identifies ‘resources’ which make such actions possible by the exertion of power and are allocative or authoritative. ‘Rules’ and ‘resources’

can exist across three structural dimensions: signification, legitimation and domination as follows:

431 Giddens (1984), ibid, p. 24.

432 Bryant, D. and Jary, C. G. A. (1991), cited in: Slater, J., Sevenhuysen, G., Edginton, B., and O’Neil, J. (2011). ‘Trying to make it all come together: structuration and employed mothers’

experience of family food provisioning in Canada. Health Promotion International, 27(3), pp.

405-415.

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Table 2: Overview of dimensions of rules and resources (Source: Giddens, 1984, pp. 25-31)

Furthermore, rules – which are learned and internalised, can have a variety of characteristics. They may, for example, be discursive, openly discussed ‘rules’

which are likely to lead to conscious decisions or tacit ‘rules’ which influence individuals on a sub-conscious level.

Agents are conceived as applying rules and resources which have become inbuilt in their actions. These actions, in turn, both reinforce and mobilise structures in dynamic relationships. As outlined in section 3.3.2, social structures and human actions therefore produce one another mutually, with structures constraining the thoughts and actions of social agents and enabling them in day-to-day interactions and strategic decisions which reproduce and/or challenge those structural dimensions⁴³³.

433 Giddens, ibid, p. 25.

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Figure 4: Social self-organisation (Source: Fuchs, ibid)

This section was used to describe the aspects of Giddens’ theories, which conceptualise ways in which human actions and social structures can act as a

‘duality’, and therefore produce one another mutually. This is now used to further explore the ‘illustrative examples’ which follow, and bring together findings from the qualitative study with service users and stakeholders with those which have explored the structural dimensions of BCC mechanisms to deliver the Equality Duty.

5.3.3 Illustrative examples

Following a reduction in grants from central government, Bristol City Council was required to make significant cuts to services, amounting to £90 million over the three years 2014 – 2017⁴³⁴. Over 60 changes to policy and service delivery were suggested as a means to achieve these cuts which potentially impacted every area of public services in the city⁴³⁵. One of the proposals was to reduce funding to children’s centres in part by “targeting services to families and children in greatest need … [and] a reduction in the funding … for the training and

434 This was part of the exercise to agree a budget which dealt with a funding gap of £90m over the years 2014-2017.

435 Bristol City Council (2013e). Summary of Savings Proposals, www.bristol.gov.uk

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qualifications of the Early Years and Play workforce”⁴³⁶. Another proposal to change service delivery was to cut supervision services at a large, supervised public play area – Hengrove Park.

Once the set of funding reductions were proposed, Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) were carried out (as described in section 5.2.4) on all 60 proposals as a way to collect evidence and, as described by BCC, to pay ‘due regard’ to the equalities considerations required by the Duty. In addition, a widespread public consultation exercise was held in Bristol relating to all the budget cut proposals.

This incorporated public meetings, which were attended by over 1,300 individuals;

web information which received 10,000 views; a survey which received almost 3,900 responses; and 25 additional submissions from community and voluntary sector groups and self-organised groups. Furthermore, BCC hosted radio phone-in discussions, live web chats and direct email between citizens and council staff (including the mayor). Consultation responses to all proposed budget cuts were ranked, and priority given (ie, greater attempts made to avoid cutbacks) to those

“listed in the top 30 public concerns raised through formal surveys and issues highlighted as having particular impacts on different equalities groups”⁴³⁷. (The final results showed that reductions to older people’s services, such as wardens or floating support, were the least popular proposals.)

Feedback from the consultation and the EIA formed part of reports which were then reviewed and commented upon by the Council’s scrutiny commissions.

These commissions were able to seek further information and make suggestions for improvement. The children and young people scrutiny commission, for example, explored whether the children’s centre savings could primarily be made through streamlining management and re-shaping services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. Finally, the information was collated and fed into a report and recommendations for the mayor and cabinet, for approval and ultimate agreement. It was notable that a requirement to adhere to the Duty was made explicit in the materials provided to the decision-makers throughout the process, in the EIA documentation, and examination of the data and other internal

436 See, for example, Bristol City Council (2014k). Updated budget proposals 2014/15 – 2016/17.

Bristol: Bristol City Council, www.bristol.gov.uk.

437 Bristol City Council (2013f). Budget Consultation 2014/15 - 2016/17, Feedback Updated 12 Nov 2014, https://bristol.citizenspace.com/bristol-city-council/budget-consultation-2014-17/

[Retrieved 9/11/2015].

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reporting, thus ensure that non-equalities specialists were regularly reminded of the need for compliance. These decisions were used to set the budget for council spending from 2014-2017⁴³⁸.

In relation to the proposal on children’s centres, the final decision made by the cabinet was to impose a level of cuts but avoid any closures, rather to “remodel the management and support of services … [and] … match the service to the demand, making sure it focuses on those who really need it … [also] using more in-house training”. With regards to Hengrove Park, because of the general unpopularity of this funding cut plus a wider commitment to the importance of parks and play which had previously been made by the city’s mayor, the decision was made to continue with play supervision albeit with some minor changes to make unsupervised play safer. In the following sections I have outlined the decisions and the evidence obtained during fieldwork, then followed this with analysis and discussion to better explore the structures involved and their impact on single mother service users.

5.3.4 Review of children’s centre services and staff training