Delivering Welfare: The Governance of the Social Services in the 1990s (Public Policy and Management)

Recent years have seen a series of radical changes in the arrangements for the delivery of education, housing, health and other major social services. Local authorities are being transformed from front line delivery agencies of the welfare state into enabling authorities. Privatization, marketization and the search for efficiency are now important features of the system of welfare delivery. The Citizen's Charter and other developments reflect a growing concern with consumerism and customer sensitivity. This book provides an up-to-date survey of the role of central government, local authorities, the health services and other agencies responsible for delivering the social services, and the directions that welfare delivery has taken in recent years. At a time when the organization of welfare delivery and the quality of the public services are high on the political agenda, it provides a timely study of an important subject. It should be of interest to both students and practitioners in social policy, public administration and politics.