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  • © 2003

Social Policy, Social Welfare and Scandal

How British Public Policy is Made

Palgrave Macmillan

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Scandal

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 1-5
  3. ‘Gothic Nightmare’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 6-29
  4. ‘The Corruption of Care’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 30-55
  5. ‘Household Happiness, Gracious Children’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 56-75
  6. The Story of ‘Cinderella’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 76-102
  7. ‘Mere Oblivion’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 103-129
  8. ‘Carnage in the Community’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 130-156
  9. ‘An Ambience of Uneasiness’

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 157-180
  10. Scandal, Welfare and Public Policy

    • Ian Butler, Mark Drakeford
    Pages 205-225
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 226-244

About this book

This book explores the complex relationship between public policy and scandal. By critically examining some of the landmark scandals of the post war period, using a variety of contemporary records and by close examination of the public inquiries which followed, this book describes the process whereby scandals are constructed and pursued, and demonstrates how scandals coincide with key shifts in public policy, in ways that are more complex and reciprocal than might first appear.

Reviews

'This is an original and thought-provoking book which is very much to be welcomed.' - Social Policy

'For those who have concerns about the development of policy and the media representation of social work and social care, this is an important book.' - Brian Littlechild, University of Hertfordshire

'...a significant and timely contribution to our understanding of how public policy is made.' - Karin Crawford, Children & Society

'Butler and Drakeford present a convincing account of the peculiar significance of public scandal in this well-written and clearly constructed volume.' - Sir William Utting, The Mental Health Review

Authors and Affiliations

  • Keele University, UK

    Ian Butler

  • University of Wales, Cardiff, UK

    Mark Drakeford

About the authors

IAN BUTLER is a qualified social worker with considerable practice and managerial experience. He has worked in residential and field settings, mainly with children and their families, in the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors. He also worked as a parliamentary research assistant for members of the Labour Party before taking up a post as a lecturer in Social Work Studies at Cardiff before moving to Keele University where he is now Professor of Social Work. Together with Mark Drakeford, he is currently Editor of the British Journal of Social Work.

MARK DRAKEFORD is a senior lecturer in social policy and applied social sciences at the University of Wales, Cardiff. For fifteen years, he worked as a probation officer and community development worker. Together with Ian Butler, he is current editor of the British Journal of Social Work. Since 2000, he has been seconded to work as the Cabinet's health and social policy adviser, and special adviser to the First Minister at the National Assembly for Wales.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access