Social Policy, Social Welfare and Scandal: How British Public Policy Is Made - Paperback

by I. Butler (Author), M. Drakeford (Author)

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.

Author Biography

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.