Welfare, civil society, and devolution: the case of youth (un)employment in England, Scotland, and Wales

This chapter positions the role of civil society within the delivery of welfare to young, unemployed people and those experiencing work insecurities. Broadly, it challenges the dominance of methodological nationalism in welfare regime analysis through empirical data from England, Scotland, and Wales and in the context of mixed economies of welfare. It contributes to the broader themes of this Handbook by exploring civil society's role in welfare delivery and how it interacts with employment support and the work first approach shaping welfare in the UK. In doing so, it engages with discussion around responsibilities and rights between the state and civil society, highlighting the tensions and interactions between centralised and devolved policies. The chapter critiques national-level categorisations of the UK's welfare regime, arguing that devolution has led to significant substate variations in social policy and welfare delivery. Given the UK's quasi-federal structure and ongoing central-devolved tensions, Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have further underscored the importance of sub-state governance. Through empirical analysis of civil society representatives at strategic and ground level, the chapter demonstrates how cross-jurisdictional interactions shape employment policy, reinforcing the Handbook's broader inquiry into the evolving boundaries between the state, civil society, family, and the market in welfare provision.