In the 1960s, the work of caring for the quarter of a million people - men, women and children - who lived in old people's homes, approved schools, hostels for the handicapped and so on was one which needed great skill and knowledge. There was already difficulty in recruiting enough of the right kind of staff for this purpose, and the problem would grow more serious, both on account of the increasing numbers to be cared for and the competition from other kinds of employment. Originally published in 1967, this Report was the result of the deliberations of a committee of enquiry of experts, most of who had been intimately concerned with the residential services, either statutory or voluntary, for many years. It analysed the problems concerning those who were engaged in this difficult, skilful and rewarding task, and suggested ways in which they could be helped by their employers, their committees and the community. It made many recommendations covering conditions of work, recruitment and the career structure. It laid special stress on the need for training and outlined a possible scheme of training at different levels. This long-awaited Report, written with knowledge and compassion, would be widely read by government departments, by Local Authorities and by all those concerned with people in care. It became something of a landmark in the development of the social services.

Much previous research on elderly people had focused on their problems, and had created an impression of a group of isolated individuals suffering from almost insurmountable social difficulties. Originally published in 1984, this study of the everyday lives of elderly people, and the sources of help and care available to them in the community at the time, made a special contribution by showing how they can and do make creative adaptations to the challenge of age, and by increasing our understanding of their informal networks of support. The author looks not only at the role and availability of family, but also of friends, neighbours, voluntary associations and statutory services and the composite networks of support which these contacts form, noting differences related to gender, class and household composition. The detailed picture that she presents would be invaluable to those teachers, students and practitioners of social work concerned with the development of more community-based patterns of social work, as recommended by the Barclay Report, and to policy makers who needed to understand how sometimes strained natural support systems may be reinforced and maintained. The book also extends our knowledge of the normal lives of elderly people and will be of general interest to social gerontologists and network theorists in sociology and anthropology.

Voluntary work is sometimes praised, sometimes criticised, but was seldom the subject of objective evaluation. Given the importance of the voluntary sector in the social services at the time, the lack of systematic research into its performance was cause for concern. Originally published in 1975, the particular value of this study was twofold: first it provided a detailed and vivid picture of the work of one section of the volunteer movement - young volunteers working with the elderly; second it examined the wider issue of how voluntary work can be evaluated. The particular volunteers studied were organised through Task Force, a London based agency, but both the substantive and research issues discussed had a far wider relevance. A key part of the study explored over a period of twelve months, the development of relationships between a group of old people and the volunteers allocated to them. The authors established a new method of assessing success in these relationships. They then explored possible reasons for the successes and failures in the relationships they studied. They suggest possible changes in the organisation of the work which might help to increase the success rate of volunteer agencies. The book will be of interest to anyone concerned about the place of voluntary work in our society. At the time it would have been of special importance to staff and members of organisations involved in voluntary social service, to social workers and social administrators, and to those who were training to join their ranks. The book is based on an eighteen-month field study of Task Force; Roger Hadley and Adrian Webb directed the research and Christine Farrell was the research officer for the project.

Originally published in 1971, volunteers in the social services were being asked to undertake increasingly demanding and responsible work, particularly in the field of prison after-care. Effective professional leadership and support were therefore essential. Hugh Barr's report describes a pilot project in London in which he tried to build effective partnership between professionals and volunteers, and between statutory and voluntary agencies. It is a report that was immediately relevant in the field of probation and after-care at the time and had implications in general for the future of the personal social services. Separate chapters discuss recruitment, motivation, preparation, selection and supervision of the volunteers; illustrations of their work are included and an attempt is made to evaluate the results of the project. The book ends with a study of the implications for future projects and of the ever-widening scope for the volunteer, who will use his leisure to match society's need. 'This is a man writing about something he has a hand in creating' (from the Foreword).

The growth of interest in community work during the seventies was very marked. But while much had been written on the actual practice of community work, there was for too long a lack of British material on the vital subjects of useful theory, training and the development of skills. In this title, originally published in 1977, the authors brought together for the National Institute for Social Work experienced teachers and practitioners of community work in an integrated and carefully structured textbook which would further understanding of the means through which community workers develop their knowledge and skills; it would be widely welcomed by all those involved in aspects of community work - as teachers, students, practitioners, supervisors and as local authority training officers. The first part of the book has four chapters on the principle means through which community workers develop their skills within their employing agencies. Part two deals with theories and the contribution made to community work by the social sciences, group work, research methods and management and planning studies. The last part of the book contains three papers which examine the major problems and issues in the placement, learning experiences and assessment of students on field work.

Since the late 1960s, community work had emerged in its own right as an occupation with an increasingly important contribution to make both to ways of thinking within the field of social policy, and to day-to-day social work practice and the resolution of pressing community issues. Its practitioners had grown in numbers and experience, while community work ideas and methods continued to influence developments in a variety of other 'neighbouring' occupations. Originally published in 1980, the editors of this NISW collection suggest that if community workers are to remain effective, then they must stay on the boundaries of the agencies that employ them and of the groups with whom they work. This theme of the 'boundary nature' of community work is examined in detail in the Introduction and is subsequently taken up by the other contributors to the book. This title is organised under three main headings - a survey section on the history, philosophy and theories of community work in the United Kingdom; a series of case studies that suggest the diversity of the interests of community work; and an analysis of the growth of community work as an occupation and the spread of its influence through related professions and disciplines. This mix of theory, practice and analysis made the book of special importance both to practising community workers and to community work teachers and students at the time. In addition, the book would have been of direct interest to community oriented administrators, professionals, teachers and students in other human service fields such as health, education, housing, planning and the personal social services, as well as to elected members and administrators in central and local government more generally. It will now be welcomed by anyone who seeks a critical account of the historical activities of community work, written by experienced practitioners and teachers.

Originally published in 1976, the aim of this book was to understand the contribution of community work to meeting some of the problems to be found in many of Britain's inner city neighbourhoods. It describes the community work process and the tasks, roles and skills of the professional community worker as he interacts with neighbourhood groups and service agencies. The author also indicates some of the strengths of collective action and its likely benefits and costs to those who participate. The book includes an examination of how to effect changes in the delivery of services from statutory and voluntary agencies, as well as an assessment of the community project of which the author was a staff member. The book is a contribution to the theory of community work and practice, and it is based upon the experience of those who worked in, and used, the Southwark Community Project, established by the National Institute for Social Work. It was written for practitioners, teachers and students of community work, as well as for other closely involved in community affairs such as teachers, playground workers, planners and social workers.

Originally published in 1981, in Old Age Homes Roger Clough presents a vivid description of the lives and work of residents and staff in an old people's home. His powerful analysis of the realities of residential work would make a major contribution to improved practice, to social work training, and to social policy formation. Many people, including some social work professionals, still felt that the very existence of residential homes illustrated a failure of society, and that living with their own family or on their own was invariably a more satisfactory experience for old people. Roger Clough questions this assumption. He argues that homes are needed and if they are to be good places in which to live and die there must be a clearer understanding of the interactions that take place within them. The descriptive parts of the study, based on detailed observation and lengthy interviews, strongly reflect the author's genuine compassion and warmth for old people. His most illuminating perceptions are presented from the perspective of the old people themselves, many of whom were conscious of the double-bind in which residents and staff are caught: there is a prevailing belief that it is best to keep active in old age, yet many of the elderly had little they though worth doing, while the staff saw their role as doing whatever they could for the residents. Roger Clough uses his material to test two central hypotheses: first that there is a linkage between the attitudes to aging held by staff and the degree of control over their own lives exercised by residents; and secondly that this degree of control is strongly correlated with resident satisfaction. Through an acute analysis of these key variables, he demonstrates the circumstances in which living in a home can be, for certain old people at certain times, the way of life they themselves would choose. His conclusions are of the greatest importance for social work practice and for the changing of staff attitudes in training. Old Age Homes would challenge anybody who knows or works with a resident in an old people's home. But it would be of outstanding value for the managers, practitioners, trainers and students to whom it was primarily addressed at the time.

Originally published in 1981, this book describes day services for adults, a relatively recent development in health and social services at the time. Most people assume immediately that day care is only provided for young children: Day Services for Adults will make it clear that a growing number of services exist by day for adults, and in a diversity and variety which have enormous potential both for those who use them and for those who work in them. Day Services for Adults reports the results of a five-year national survey. The broad terms of reference of the research were to review the present provision of day centres for adults. To consider the policy questions of staffing and accommodation and to suggest which groups in the community might benefit most from day centres and to advise on how these centres might contribute to the integration and development of local services for those in need. The result was the first comprehensive investigation of day services in the world. Jan Carter analyses services for the elderly, the mentally handicapped, the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, offenders, drug addicts and those in family care centres sponsored by health, social services, probation and voluntary agencies. By a full coverage of all these groups and their sponsors, unique comparisons between services for the various groups can be made. Day Services for Adults was intended for those who made decisions about day units and particularly for local authority policy-makers and executive civil servants in local authority health authorities and central government. It was also addressed to those senior professionals practising inside and outside day services: psychiatrists, geriatricians, those practising rehabilitation medicine, senior nursing officers, psychologists, senior social workers and social work administrators.

Despite extensive changes in the organisation of social and psychiatric services, there had been no study of mental health social work in the UK since the early 1960s. There was, however, no shortage of 'received wisdom' about the perceived failure of social work to provide a service to the mentally disordered. Originally published in 1984, it was to provide some basic information about the practice of social work in this field that the study was conducted on which Mental Health Social Work Observed is based. The authors looked at both long-term work and emergency work in which the use of compulsory powers was requested. In addition to the views of social workers, the opinions of psychiatrists, family practitioners and of the clients themselves were sought in order to gain a full picture of social work in practice. Through their thorough immersion in the field of study and through their experience of social work and of mental health issues, the authors were able to provide a sympathetic and lucid account of the difficulties of mental health social work and of the thorny issue of interprofessional relationships which will ring true to the practitioner. They produced recommendations relevant to social work practice at the time and this book would be found useful to social workers and their managers, to psychiatrists, family practitioners, psychiatric nurses and clinical psychologists. Of particular relevance to the then current changes in the role of the social worker under the new mental health legislation is the authors' study of mental health emergency work, culminating in a recommended code of practice.

Originally published in 1968, the study described in this title began in a very small way in late 1960. At that time some Oxfordshire county councillors and children's department officials were very conscious that the number of children in care in the county was high in comparison with the national average. This meant that expenditure was also high. The County's position, however, was not unique. Oxford City was in a similar position, but other neighbours did not appear to have the same problem. A small research project was launched to investigate and it soon became apparent that there was a large and complex problem to be solved. The problem was of striking, persistent and puzzling variations in the proportion of children in care in the different local authority children's departments of England and Wales. This seemed to warrant a larger investigation on a country-wide basis and this book outlines the findings of that project.

The explosion of literature on the once taboo topic of death and dying in the late 1970s had tended to pass the professional social worker by. Originally published in 1981, it was to fill this important gap that Towards Death with Dignity was written. Not since Kubler-Ross's now classic On Death and Dying has a book in the field of terminal care been informed by so much first-hand experience, and so much case material, allowing the caregiver to learn from the dying person himself how best to help him towards a dignified death. Sylvia Poss's sensitive elucidation of what the dying person must do for himself in order to master his terminal crisis was welcomed as a major contribution to psychosocial knowledge at the time. Having outlined the dying person's side of the crisis, she turns to the perspective of those who hope to help him towards death - other patients, nurses, doctors, paramedical staff and social workers, chaplains, volunteers, employers, relatives and friends. Towards Death with Dignity focuses on three of social work's major methods: social casework, community work and teaching. Not only does Sylvia Poss outline what may need to be done by the caregiver, but she also illustrates how; she further outlines how to prepare for social work in the terminal care field and suggests an effective method for teaching terminal care skills. Her book also provided, for the first time, a synthesis of other recent work in the field, to help social workers through what had become a plethora of specialist psychosocial and medical literature. Towards Death with Dignity was thus a useful, practical guide, both for laymen and for the many professionals involved in this aspect of the health care field. It will also be valuable for those who are involved personally in moving towards their own death, or are being called upon to be involved in some way in the death of a relative, neighbour or friend.

First published in 1966, the original blurb read: Learning with the help of skilled practitioners is as essential in training for social work as for medicine and teaching. Where do students of social work go for field training and why? What is it hoped that they will learn through their experience? What responsibilities are they given and who guides their learning? Partnership between social workers and academic staff in working out these questions is considered at a critical time in the changing perspectives and expansion of social services. The staff of colleges and social agencies, students, and professional organizations have helped to produce the facts and views on which this survey is based.

How are adoptions arranged? How far do the present adoption service really meet the needs of the adoptive family? Originally published in 1966, these are the questions examined in this searching investigation - at the time one of the few to be undertaken since legal adoption was introduced in this country in 1926. The scope of the survey is comprehensive for every type of adoption is included: those arranged by societies, by local authorities, by relatives and private individuals. Each step in the process is described and appraised both from the angle of the agencies and of the adopters. The careful analysis of agency policy and practice and the compelling accounts of the adopters' experiences and attitudes makes this report of particular interest to anyone concerned with the development of this branch of the social services and its history. The writer had extensive and varied social work experience, both in the statutory and voluntary field, and had herself arranged adoptions.

Originally published in 1982 Social Work and Ethnicity was the first purpose-written text for social work students, administrators and practitioners designed to prepare them conceptually and practically for work in Britain's established ethnic minority communities. Much more than the vicissitudes of immigration now had to be considered: this book discusses social work's response to chronic racial discrimination and disadvantage and the hazards and advantages of taking ethnicity into account in service delivery. Emphasised throughout is the role of the social services in promoting good race relations and a better deal for black people. Social Work and Ethnicity is based on research carried out by Mrs Cheetham and sponsored by the DHSS to identify the major concerns of social workers with ethnic minority clients and to study the development of relevant services in Britain and the USA. The contributing authors are mainly practitioners and come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds; in fact, this is the first book on social work to be published in Britain to which a substantial contribution has been made by black writers. The specially commissioned contributions discuss the fundamental questions of principle in giving special consideration to ethnicity and underline the implications for practice. In particular, the lessons which Britain can learn from American experience are reviewed. The book opens with a discussion of political and ethical questions; the problems of assessing need and monitoring services are then examined. This is followed by several chapters on the special needs of various ethnic minority client groups, particularly children and young people, who now deserve priority attention. The tricky issue of ethnic matching is discussed, so too are the different methods of developing services which are appropriate to ethnic minority needs and aspirations. Recruitment, training and education for work in a multi-racial society are subjects for several chapters and the book concludes with the experiences of two ethnic minority social workers. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1982. The language used and assumptions made are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

Originally published in 1965, this standard work sets out to explore the questions: What is 'social administration', and how can people prepare themselves for this work? It shows the social services in continuous evolution in response to political, economic and social change, and it ends with a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of the processes and causes of this evolution, and of the different contributions to change made by the various parties concerned. This analysis is based on the case studies presented in the book's central chapters. Of this new version of the book, first published in 1975, Professor Donnison wrote: 'The first three chapters of the original book have been scrapped and a new introduction to the whole subject takes their place - an introduction not only to the literature about social policy and administration but to the "point" and purpose of the subject (for students who, rightly, expect to be convinced about this before devoting their time to it). Then follow eight case studies of innovations in the work and policies of local units of the social services - including housing, education, a home help service, planning and legal aid, besides social work services. These are the original studies untouched. I have returned to each agency and found out what has happened since our original studies, adding a postscript to each, outlining the main developments since the original research, ten to twenty years ago. I don't think anyone has ever done that before. In most cases the innovating trends we identified have gone further, often becoming national orthodoxy by now. The one (on legal aid) where unexpected developments have occurred is at least as interesting.' Professor Donnison has added a ninth case study - of the Department of Social Administration at the London School of Economics where he was working when the original studies were made (Professor Richard Titmuss was head of the department at that time). This study traces the development of education for social workers at a seminal stage and the difficult problems which had to be resolved when major new departures occurred in this field. The chapter will be of lasting interest to historians of social work and social work education in Britain, besides throwing light on the process of innovation in social policy.

Who becomes homeless? Why? What stresses and strains do these people face? Does losing a home provoke other problems or is it a sequel to them? How far do government policies and provisions go towards meeting the needs of the homeless? What changes would be desirable? To what extent is homelessness due to housing shortages? Originally published in 1971, these and other questions are tackled in this study of the development of services for the homeless. It is based on detailed investigation of provisions in South Wales and the West Country and is a study of the lives of over 500 families who, at some stage since 1963, had lost their homes. Hitherto studies of homelessness had been restricted to London or other big urban centres. The questions posed and answered here are much more general, and relevant to all parts of the country at the time. Information for the survey came from the records kept in Local Authority Welfare, Children's Health and Housing Departments, the Probation and After-Care Service, local offices of the Department of Health and Social Security, and many voluntary organizations. The findings suggest that, in the areas studied, homelessness was worse than anticipated, and that its demands on the social services were similar in range but different in order of priority from those in the metropolis. Poor housing conditions remain an important feature, reinforced by unhelpful attitudes in housing management. Housing shortages are important for large families and those who cannot be self-dependent - more so than for others. Looming over the whole picture is homelessness resulting from broken marriages and family disputes, with the attendant difficulties of unsupported motherhood, poverty, sickness and unemployment.

Originally published in 1979, Ends and Means in Social Work was the first book to provide research-based evidence on what social workers actually do, what they were aiming to achieve, and what sense their activities made, both in terms of their own subjective perspectives and those of their clients. The authors describe and analyse a series of surveys and action studies based on a year's referrals and the long-term clientele of an area office. They aimed first to find out what the clients thought of and expected from the newly reorganised social services, and how social workers saw the changes and their new responsibilities. The second aim was to discover how social work skills and other resources were being used to meet different client needs. Third, the research was designed to enable social workers, by developing a new monitoring tool, the Case Review System, to become more explicit about both the ends and means of their activities. Widespread interest had been aroused by the Case Review System. It had raised intriguing questions about who gets what and why. On an individual level, the Case Review System can enable social workers to evaluate their practice by comparing plan with achievement; as an educational tool it can assist supervision; as a management tool it can provide aggregated data on client characteristics, the use of resources, and outcomes; as a research tool it can answer questions on the relationships between client characteristics, problems and social work practice, and provide longitudinal data on client careers. It is in response to insistent demands for a rounded account of this research project and its results that this book has been written. It endeavours to bring together all the aspects of the specific research studies and to discuss their wider implications for the organisation of the personal social services. Particularly valuable for students and practitioners alike will be the concluding discussion in which the evidence which emerged about the use of social work resources is subjected to critical review. Questions are raised about the current deployment of social work skills, and suggestions are made about how these skills might be redeployed, tasks defined more realistically, and how statutory functions could mesh more easily with voluntary activities.

In the 1980s, although most social workers organised their time and described their work in terms of cases, research studies had cast serious doubts on the efficacy of working in this way. As a result, there had been growing anxiety about what social workers do, what they ought to do, and the training they needed. Task-centred casework was an approach to social work which proposed a solution to some aspects of this dilemma. Growing out of the surprising results of an American research study, it broke free from the traditional psycho-analytic approach to casework. It aimed at clarity of purpose, a concentration on the clients' perceptions of the problems, openness about clients' and helpers' intentions and agreement about what is to be done and achieved within a specified time. Originally published in 1985, this book brings together three British studies that accompanied, and in some respects pioneered, the introduction of task-centred casework into the United Kingdom. The studies describe and evaluate task-centred casework with social services department clients, with young people on probation, and with men and women referred to hospital after poisoning themselves. The research suggests what task-centred casework can and cannot achieve, describes how clients experience it and seeks to define the skills it requires. The studies also provide some reasons why many previous studies of social work have failed to find evidence for social work effectiveness. The book uses much case material to illustrate methods of task-centred casework and its outcomes as seen by clients, social workers, and an independent outsider. It should still be of interest to social workers, teachers of social work, and social work students. More generally, it will be welcomed by all those who are interested in building social work on a surer basis than anecdote and fashion.

In the early 1970s general practitioners were well aware that they were being asked to deal not only with physical illness in their patients but also with the stresses relating to social and emotional problems. Increasingly often they were working together with health visitors and social workers in attempting to respond more effectively to these demands. Originally published in 1972, this study describes the attachment of a social worker to a group general medical practice in London, indicating why, for all social groups, the general practice is an appropriate point at which psychosocial problems may be identified and treated. The authors describe the nature and range of patients' problems that come to light in the consulting room; how patients present their problems to the social worker; and the kind of help the social worker is able to offer. They explore the extent to which the general practice setting provides opportunities for preventive therapy and further describe how social work in general practice can most effectively be related to existing social services in the community, particularly to the reorganised personal social services. Their findings are supported throughout by illuminating case studies. The book also discusses the integration of the social worker into the general practice team, the problems that have to be solved and the mutual enlightenment that results. This emerges as an extremely encouraging and instructive experiment, which will immediately interest social service departments and social workers, doctors and nurses, both students and those in practice. The wide spectrum of social problems encountered and dealt with by the social worker in a general practice make it a particularly stimulating account.

In 1970 social workers were in great demand and their numbers were growing. At the same time questions were asked on both sides of the Atlantic about the methods they employed, their objectives and the effectiveness of their efforts. Previous studies undertaken in the United States to test the effectiveness of social casework had led to intense controversy between researchers and practitioners. Originally published in 1970, the field experiment described in this book was the first British attempt to assess the effectiveness of social work. A team led by a social worker, including a physician and a statistician, assessed the social and medical conditions of 300 aged applicants to a local authority welfare department and determined their needs for help. Half of these old people were randomly selected to receive help from trained caseworkers; the other half, also randomly chosen, remained with experienced local authority welfare officers without professional training. The social and medical conditions of the surviving clients were reassessed after an interval. Both sets of social workers had achieved much in alleviating practical needs. But the trained workers brought about more change in their clients' activities, feelings and attitudes. The opinions of the old people about the services they received and the social workers who had carried them out added another dimension to this pioneer study which contributed to research methodology, helped to clarify operational goals in social work, made a beginning in measuring social work effort and enlarged our meagre knowledge of social work with old people at the time.

In the early 1980s in Britain the organisation of the personal social services had come under increasingly critical scrutiny. The establishment of large social services departments following re-organisation in the early 1970s had led, some argued, to the emergence of services which all too often were over-centralised, fragmented and crisis-oriented in their approach. In attempts to break out of this reactive system and to fashion services which were more coherent and preventive, a growing number of field teams within the departments had begun to adopt community-oriented patterns of organisation. Originally published in 1984, this book based on an eighteen-month study of the area team at Normanton (Wakefield MDC), which incorporated social workers, ancillaries, and domiciliary staff in neighbourhood sub-teams, offered the first systematic account of the operation of this new approach. The authors examine how referrals and long-term work are handled, describe the management of the team, and consider the views of workers, users and the staff of other agencies. While giving a clear picture of the difficulties faced in adopting a community-centred approach the book provides convincing evidence of its potential to create more responsive and effective services based on better knowledge of the population served, easier access to the team, broader staff roles, and the active encouragement of local community initiatives. The most comprehensive account of an area team so far published, this book would be essential reading for all those concerned to improve the performance of the personal social services at the time. It would be of particular importance to councillors, managers and planners, to social workers and other field staff in social services departments, and to teachers and students of social work.

Few people who work in the social services would deny that the reception of those asking for help is important, and yet this process is seldom closely examined. Originally published in 1974, this book aims not only to focus attention on the problems faced by those seeking the help of a social service organisation, but also to analyse what happens and why at the point of entry. This study analyses reception practices in four very different social work agencies. The author demonstrates that the reception process is not just an administrative expedient but that, under certain circumstances, it may have a profound influence upon the way the agency operates, the services it provides and who receives them. In short, many of the important rationing decisions about resources allocation may be made not by an agency's senior and middle managers, or by its professional social work staff, but by an untrained clerical receptionist at the point of initial contact between the organisation and its clients. The Point of Entry was primarily written for students and teachers of social administration, social workers, administrators, and receptionists themselves. It is, however, a valuable study for all who are concerned with the reception of visitors to any kind of organisation which provides a service to clients.

Despite the widely held belief that the social services were allocated solely on the basis of client need, and could therefore be directly contrasted with the operation of the private market, in the 1970s there remained a wide range of services for which the consumer had to pay directly at the time of consumption. Consumer charges were widely used, for example, for residential accommodation, for the provision of day care and for domiciliary services. Originally published in 1980, Charging for Social Care provided a long overdue examination of the use of these charges in the personal social services. It analyses their historical origins, current operation and their social and financial significance. In addition, it provides a clear theoretical framework within which pricing policies should be determined and outlines the policy for pricing personal social services in the future. In undertaking this analysis Ken Judge and James Matthews had gone beyond the rhetoric which in the past had characterised discussions about charges. Their detailed and perceptive study was based on a report for the Department of Health and Social Security. It would still be of interest to students and teachers of social policy and social administration, to policy makers in both central and local government, to students of the economics of social policy and of the public sector, to social workers, and to all those with an interest in the personal social services and in public spending decisions.

Originally published in 1973, the aim of this book was to consider the relationship of a vital element in our social security system, the Supplementary Benefits Commission, to the personal social services, in particular to social work. Notions of 'entitlement' and 'rights' in means-tested benefit schemes are examined in relation to those claimants, including unsupported mothers and the so-called 'voluntary unemployed', who present particular difficulties to those administering the scheme. For many who claim supplementary benefit their only need is prompt, efficient financial service. For a few, their financial need is inextricably bound up with complex social and psychological difficulties. For such cases, the civil servants who administer the British Supplementary Benefits scheme need skill beyond that normally expected of such persons and their relationship with the social workers who are, or should be, in touch with such claimants becomes crucial. The book considers some of the underlying ethical issues, in particular the tension between equitable and individualised justice, involved in the exercise of discretion. It describes the structure and organisation of the Supplementary Benefits scheme and analyses the roles of officials that bear on welfare. It also examines the current situation with regard to the selection and training of officials and discusses the attitudes of social workers to officials. This work, drawing on the unique experience of the author as the first Social Work Adviser to the Supplementary Benefits Commission, was the first study of its kind to be published in this country and would be of great value to all students and teachers of social work at the time as well as to a wide readership of social scientists.