Conclusions

Abstract

I have argued in this book that welfare rights work is of growing relevance to a wide range of social services staff, given the income problems faced by large and growing numbers of social services clients. I have considered at some length, in Chapter 2, the arguments concerning the place of welfare rights within social work and have attempted to trace the main elements in a detailed debate concerning how prescriptive one can be in urging welfare rights methods upon social workers. I have concluded that, wherever one stands on this question, there must be minimum standards of welfare rights knowledge, and that the complex nature of social security means that these minimum levels are in fact higher than many perhaps realise. I have summarised a substantial body of action research which demonstrates the gains to be made for clients when welfare rights methods are deployed.