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This book provides a detailed narrative and analysis of the 50-year development of the personal social services in England, located throughout the changing ideological, political and relevant professional contexts of the period.

Drawing on the experience and recollections of key players who were active during major moments, it constitutes a significant addition to the social work and social policy literature, synthesising important and often original evidence, and some provocative interpretations. The book speaks to crucial on-going issues and contentious current debates, such as the place of bureaucratic management structures in 'practices with people' generally, and social work specifically.

It will be of interest to student and qualified social workers, social policy students and researchers, and policy makers, as well as those with a general interest in the history and trajectory of current issues facing social work and social care in England.

A History of the Personal Social Services in England: Feast, Famine and the Future

1 Introduction: History and Hints.- Part I Creating the Personal Social Services.- 2 Seizing  the Moment: The Seebohm Committee.- 3 Scripting the Future: The Seebohm Report.- 4 Preparing the Platform: The Local Authority Social Services Bill and Act.- Part II The Personal Social Services in Action.- 5 Creating the Empires: Promise and Potential (1970-1976).- 6 The Seismic Shifts of the Mid-1970s.- 7 Norming and Storming: Social Work Debates and Developments in the 1970s.- 8 Thatcher and Threat (1979-1989).- Part III New Laws and New Horizons.- 9 A Drama in Two Parts: Part I-The 1989 Children Act and Children's Social Services.- 10 A Drama in Two Parts: Part II-The 1990 NHS and Community Care Act and Adult Social Services and Social Work.- Part IV The Recent Reforms and Unravelling.- 11 New Labour: New Agendas (1997-2010).- 12 Coalition and Conservatives: Austerity and Hostility (2010-2020).- Part V Reflecting and Re-routing.- 13 The Personal Social Services Today and Tomorrow.