Using money to support requests for assistance at ... My research: Conversation at MP Surgeries. ⢠Biweekly .... I- I- I can't- I don't want to see my business. 23.
Using money to support requests for assistance at the constituency office of a Member of Parliament Emily Hofstetter
My research: Conversation at MP Surgeries • Biweekly face-to-face meetings with Member of Parliament • MPs and their caseworkers offer help with: • Benefits difficulties • Complaints about local council, neighbours, development • Immigration • Housing… • 80 interactions at 1 constituency office (55 telephone, 25 surgeries), 14 hours • Money, jobs, and personal finance were frequent topics
Money topics in social work environments • Previous studies: • Rostila (1997): Social workers control when finances are raised • Hydén (1996): Social workers evaluate the moral standing of the applicants • Mäkitalo (2006): Accounts after negative noticings for moral behaviour • Ekström et al. (2013): Clients manage moral accountability by characterizing the financial difficulties as temporary • Cedersund (2013): Client narratives do moral accounting work • Clients characterized as defending moral standing • But at the constituency office, situation reversed
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He’s in arrears of five weeks. (.) Er:m He owes me three hundred and eighty nine pound¿ (0.8) °Go[sh° [I’m: I’m not able to stop my five pound a week,= =No cause it comes straight out of your ee ess ay:, (0.5) An’ it’s so- the legislation:, the whole system, (.) I’m sorry but it is So ba:d, b- If other people are going through, .hh what I’m going through afford to have my central heating on. .hh M[m:, [An’ I’ve got all these health conditio[ns, [Mm:, That five pound would go towards[ my:, ] [Your centra]l heating,
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Yeah. (0.2) That ol: man:’s still: pest[’ring me [hkHaha>hah ahWell< hAll hri:[ght hgosh.] [(° Yeah ° )] An’ I need, I: Nee:d .hhh er- protection. Ye:s. er- Quite ri:ght.= =An’ I pay: ihundred and hforty six pound a month, Y[eah, [for my] rates, (0.3) An’ I: .hhh haven’t (.) gone to the- (0.3) sstep that I considered, (1.0) to ’im an’ saying “ to put it ri:ght, (0.5) I’m not going to pay me ra:tes. Yea-er-well:: .hhh er:m: [I wouldn’t necessarily ad]vise [I know::: (° °)] that,=I un- you un:- must understan:d, [but]= [( )] =Er:m .hh But let me get back onto it again.
Requesting at the constituency office • Ostensibly constituents have a want/need to satisfy, but no requests • Previous reports of non-requests • Sterie & González-Martínez (2014): Nurses reporting problems and receiving offers • Gill (2005): Patient hinting for an HIV test • Gill et al. (2001): Patient pressure for a test • Not evidence for preference of offers > requests (see Kendrick & Drew 2014) • Not clear to constituents what is requestable • No rules governing constituency office aid • Presentation of evidence of need, in offer-relevant turns: ‘casebuilding’ • Similar to recruitment (Floyd et al. 2014)
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.hh Er- Do you know your Choice Based Lettings number, (1.4) It should start with four hundred usually, .hhh (.) °Hang on a minute,°= =Or maybe even three nine ni:ne actually if you’ve been on there for two yea:rs. (.) .hhh °°(Got it)°° (1.1) hhhh (4.6) ((sound of a zipper)) They’ve had all:: letters, doctors letters, an’ (0.2) ° [Oh:, that was gonna be my next question. eYeah. Yeah. I- I’ve had, (0.7) Well it (.) cost me twenty pounds a ti:me off the Rea::lly, (0.4) Ih- An’ what annoys me is,=I know people who’ve got bungalows,
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.hhhhhHH hWELL we ca- We can certainly look into it for you.=That’s not a problem an:’ if we need to: er:m: er: get in touch with the council, we’ll quite Happily do #so,#=tha- that’s not a pro#blem:#, Yeah. Absolutely .hhhh[hH [Will y- e- e#I- I-# e- >you know I don’t know what’s best to do< #>would’you-e-
