A2 Edexcel 3A uk political issues

Original post by Cast.Iron

So there were two essays on Environmental Policy?

I meant one 15 marker and one 45 marker. sorry for not being clear :biggrin:

Reply 21

acidicgirl

3

This is a very good website, covers many current issues. Best to look under the Research heading on the right.

http://www.civitas.org.uk/

Reply 22

Original post by timmy-miles

I meant one 15 marker and one 45 marker. sorry for not being clear :biggrin:

Oh good good, you had me scared there!

Original post by acidicgirl

This is a very good website, covers many current issues. Best to look under the Research heading on the right.

http://www.civitas.org.uk/

The fact sheets are pretty good but be wary of their reasonably far-right bias.

Reply 23

Can anyone explain the internal market to me and also how they could word it into a question? The whole producers and providers aspect has really thrown me.

Im skipping the economy because there is far too much to learn on it and the environment overlaps in pretty much all questions so you can learn something and feel pretty sure you can apply it to every question.
I don't actually feel that worried about this exam when i probably should, i had history on Friday and that was my hardest and the grade boundaries are usually so low for this i don't feel like i have to worry.

Reply 24

By internal market is it also referring it to the micro economy?

I haven't seen it anything to do with producers and providers, where you getting that from?

Reply 25

Internal market in the NHS, the whole thing with the quasi-privitisation thing.

Reply 26

Original post by Vinnygillan

Can anyone explain the internal market to me and also how they could word it into a question? The whole producers and providers aspect has really thrown me.

Im skipping the economy because there is far too much to learn on it and the environment overlaps in pretty much all questions so you can learn something and feel pretty sure you can apply it to every question.
I don't actually feel that worried about this exam when i probably should, i had history on Friday and that was my hardest and the grade boundaries are usually so low for this i don't feel like i have to worry.

Tories introduced the internal market to encourage competition within the NHS without privatising it.

Providers: NHS Trusts (hospitals, clinics etc), Specialist Health Authorities (blood transfusion units, teaching hospitals etc) and non-fundholding GPs.

Purchasers: Health Authorities (given a budget and had to seek out best i.e cheapest care) and Fundholding GPs (given a budget, which included their salary so the more efficient they are in clinical decisions the more they can pay themselves).

What this did was it made the providers act more efficiently ergo alleviating the worst symptoms of the perrenial problem of funding. In a question, you would relate this to privatisation and say that it undermines Beveridge's principle of universality. However, it is still free at the point of entry so it did not damage the welfare state substantially.

New Labour did not abolish the internal market, they merely diluted it. They fixed the prices and introduced Primary Care Trusts as both providers (GPs surgeries, dentists etc) and purchasers (hip replacements) from seconday care (hospitals etc). This way, the PCTs drove what the local hospitals had.

To bolster the principles of equality and universality they established NICE, however PCTs and Foundation hospitals did not necessarily have to take on the body's recommendations.

Hope this helped somewhat.

Also, what do you mean about the grade boundaries? How low are they normally?

Reply 27

I'm afraid I have no notes on the NHS :frown:

but at a guess I would go with the fact that the NHS bulk buys stock and then the individual primary care trusts would buy stocks as required for their hospitals. although some PCTs have already been abolished under the Coalition Healthcare reforms so not entirely sure about the current arrangements or even if I am correct!

As for quasi-privatization again not entirely sure but I know that quasi means false/not really so quasi-privatization is in essence the introduction of some private aspects to the provision of healthcare but that it is still within the public sector. For example the outsourcing of hospital cleaning is quasi-privatization. Not 100% sure but near as damn it sure!

Reply 28

Thank you that is really helpful!

The grade boundaries for politics exams are notoriously low. For example in our mock a few weeks ago (which was a past paper) i got 66 out of 90 and that was an A*. I think the A* boundary was like 61. so that works out like 75% for an A*

Reply 29

Yeah cast-iron has about nailed that one!

Reply 30

Original post by timmy-miles

I'm afraid I have no notes on the NHS :frown:

but at a guess I would go with the fact that the NHS bulk buys stock and then the individual primary care trusts would buy stocks as required for their hospitals. although some PCTs have already been abolished under the Coalition Healthcare reforms so not entirely sure about the current arrangements or even if I am correct!

As for quasi-privatization again not entirely sure but I know that quasi means false/not really so quasi-privatization is in essence the introduction of some private aspects to the provision of healthcare but that it is still within the public sector. For example the outsourcing of hospital cleaning is quasi-privatization. Not 100% sure but near as damn it sure!

How come you have no notes on the NHS :s-smilie:

? You make some pretty good points even without the notes though, so I wouldn't worry :smile:

.

Original post by Vinnygillan

Thank you that is really helpful!

The grade boundaries for politics exams are notoriously low. For example in our mock a few weeks ago (which was a past paper) i got 66 out of 90 and that was an A*. I think the A* boundary was like 61. so that works out like 75% for an A*

No worries, it's good for me to recall it too :biggrin:

.

Wow really? That's pretty good news because I desperately need an A or an A* in this one.

Reply 31

Original post by Cast.Iron

How come you have no notes on the NHS :s-smilie:

? You make some pretty good points even without the notes though, so I wouldn't worry :smile:

.

Well I have them somewhere I think maybe! To be honest it is one of the things that I have a natural interest in so I think I can blag a little if I have no choice!

And cheers for the vote of confidence :biggrin:

Reply 32

Im more of an ideologies person :'(

Reply 33

Just to clarify on the NHS is it really just things like the Beveridge report with reference to the five giants. And then key issues such as free at point of service and that there has been rationing due to aging pop, increased demand for non-life threatening operations eg hip replacements and the above!?

Reply 34

Original post by Vinnygillan

Im more of an ideologies person :'(

Snap! Wish my politics teacher had chosen to do 3B instead!

I think he has a thing for the environment as we do 3A and 4D both of which have environmental elements :\

Reply 35

Original post by Vinnygillan

Im more of an ideologies person :'(

Hear hear.

Original post by timmy-miles

Just to clarify on the NHS is it really just things like the Beveridge report with reference to the five giants. And then key issues such as free at point of service and that there has been rationing due to aging pop, increased demand for non-life threatening operations eg hip replacements and the above!?

I'd say that pretty much covers it. Privatisation in the NHS is quite important too, which the internal market and PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives) come under. If you have time to look at the Coalition reforms then that'd be worth it, but essentially they are thinking of turning GPs into private contractors.

Reply 36

Original post by Cast.Iron

Hear hear.

I'd say that pretty much covers it. Privatisation in the NHS is quite important too, which the internal market and PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives) come under. If you have time to look at the Coalition reforms then that'd be worth it, but essentially they are thinking of turning GPs into private contractors.

Oh I know people who work with the PCTs so I am versed in that one! although not entirely confident with the latest reforms that were announced last week, managed to miss the news for revision, almost ironic really!

Reply 37

Original post by timmy-miles

Oh I know people who work with the PCTs so I am versed in that one! although not entirely confident with the latest reforms that were announced last week, managed to miss the news for revision, almost ironic really!

Oh that's good then. Don't worry about it, they won't expect people to write about them anyway.

Good luck tomorrow, let's pray for some decent questions.

Reply 38

reedy7

anyone have any idea what questions are likely to come up? / heard of any predictions?!

Reply 39