Government websites

The Government produces a vast quantity of official publications and guidance which you can use to support your studies. Most Government materials are freely available in electronic format and in some cases they are only available online. Below are listed some of the most important UK Government websites and resources for Applied Social Science topics.

Portals

DirectGov - the official Government website for citizens. It provides a portal to public services and information.

Government Departments & Websites

• DH: Department of Health - provides information on health and social care policy, guidance and publications for the NHS and social care professions including reports, guidance publications, legislation and statistics. Many of which are freely available in full text.
• Department for Education - provides information about the work of the department responsible for education and children's services.
• Department for Work & Pensions - information about services and benefits for people of working age, pensioners, disabled people and their carers and people with children. The Resource Centre section has links to many full text Government policy publications.
• Every Child Matters - provides information about the Every Child Matters programme which sets out the previous Government's approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to nineteen. It includes separate sections on: health and well-being, early years and childcare, education, training and employment, safeguarding and social care and youth.
• Home Office – website of the Government department responsible for protecting the public from terrorism, crime and anti-social behaviour. It has separate sections on counter-terrorism, immigration, anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol, the police, science, research and statistics. It has links to a wide range of full text documents and publications in its Publications section.
• Home Office Research Development Statistics - a separate Home Office website which includes a wide range of full text statistical publications on all aspects of crime and policing in the UK.
• Policy Hub – this is the site of the Government's Social Research Unit. It has links to full text reports on all aspects of social research. The Publications section has a large number of links to full text documents and reports.
• Youth Justice Board (YJB) - the YJB oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales. They work to prevent offending and re-offending by children and young people and to ensure that custody for them is safe, secure and addresses the causes of their offending behaviour. The Publications section includes a large number of free full text publications.