Regulation or fragmentation? Directions for social work under New Labour

This article reviews the modernizing agenda of New Labour for social work which has been articulated in the various changes for social work and social care announced in the ‘Quality Strategy’. Focusing predominantly on arrangements for education and training, the article argues that, rather than presenting a coherent strategy, the structures and procedures are fragmented and unco‐ordinated at many levels. A major weakness is that New Labour has failed to clarify where it places social work in the structures of a ‘modernized’ welfare state.