In the decade since devolution, there has been a wealth of literature dealing with the changing policy-making environment and changing social policies of the Scottish governments (Mooney and Scott, Reference Mooney and Scott2005; Keating, Reference Keating2007; Birrell, Reference Birrell2009). Much of the literature has focused on the policy divergence or lack of divergence that has followed and the extent to which the heralded ‘Scottish solutions for Scottish problems’ has actually emerged. This book, edited by Hothersall and Bolger of Robert Gordon University (RGU), acts as a timely reminder of the complex UK and Scottish policy environment in which social workers and related professions work as they attempt to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable. It offers a very useful text for those studying the specifically Scottish aspects of social work in Scotland. It highlights how policy has flourished since devolution, how it underpins much of social work practice and policy but also provides a sound theoretical basis for understanding the nature and direction of policy. What makes the book distinctive is this clear attempt to meet the needs of social work and related professions in Scotland – to critically engage not only in the debates about policy direction and but also to gain a depth of knowledge relevant to their fields. It is a textbook that draws on the expertise of staff at RGU and offers a well researched, cogently argued picture of practice and debate in the field.

The book is organised into three parts. The first four chapters examine the genesis, purpose and fundamental principles underpinning the existence of social policy as well as highlighting how principles and laws of the past inform practice of the present. Principles of less eligibility, deserving and undeserving poor are shown to have deep roots in the welfare responses to industrialisation of the past as well as the neoliberal tendencies of late twentieth-century Britain. Chapter 3 highlights the competing ideologies of welfare currently in existence and shows how social policy is highly contested – arguing that different conceptions of what welfare is and how it should be addressed are becoming ever more complex with the advent of devolution and globalisation. Chapter 4 reminds the reader that the study of social policy is not just an abstract or analytical activity, but one that involves attempts to define and meet ‘human needs’.

The chapters in the second part highlight current themes and issues affecting policy today. Chapters 5 to 9 provide an overview of the circumstances where needs are most often recognised and discusses the range of policies that aim to address them. The reduction of poverty, the protection of individuals and groups from harm, changing perceptions of risk, the provision of care for vulnerable people, the relationship between paid and unpaid care, the provision of welfare for those unable to provide adequately for themselves through employment and the positioning of service users and carers in policy-making and service delivery are key issues in this part. The chapters on empowerment and risk are particularly worth reading. In each chapter, the situation in Scotland as well as the rest of Britain is examined so that readers get a clear sense of the slowly emerging, distinctive and mature policy agenda of Scotland, as well as a clear route through the breadth and complexity of policy debates. All chapters are comprehensive in their coverage and actively engage with Scottish readers. Case studies and exercises are used to encourage readers to reflect on their own practice and environment as well as how policy initiatives and ideas generally affect individuals, groups and professional responses. The case studies are carefully thought out and encourage an active reading and engagement with the core issues of the social work profession.

Part III, ‘Policy and practice’, offers a detailed examination of the areas of social policy that affect social work practice, and which coincidentally are the areas where Scottish government has its most devolved powers. Policies and practice to reduce health inequalities, develop mental well-being, meet the challenges of an ageing population, make sense of impairment, protect vulnerable children, develop education and training provision fit for the twenty-first century, deal with problematic use of alcohol and drugs, develop safer communities, support asylum seekers and others subject to immigration control and address growing housing shortages are the key issues dealt with in this part. As in Part II, detailed case studies offer a valuable means of reflecting on the points made. A common theme across the chapters in this section is the capacity and need for social workers to recognize and respond to the legislation and policy that impacts on their practice. The profession is presented as one that has much to offer and much to cope with in the insecurities of changing ideas and resources. This is not an uncritical book – it offers social workers a real understanding of the environment in which they work, but also offers an analysis which encourages them to engage in debate about the future of welfare.