Scandals do not just happen. They are made. They are constructed out of such everyday tragedies as the small carelessnesses and institutional brutality of the long stay hospital, the abuse of children or the violent deaths of innocent bystanders. This book, by examining the landmark scandals of the post-war period, including more recent ones, such as the Victoria Climbie Inquiry, reveals how scandals are generated, to what purposes they are used and whose interests they are made to serve. In particular, it examines the role of the public inquiry, an increasingly familiar policy device, in the process whereby the 'story' of a particular scandal is told and its meaning fixed. Using transcripts, press coverage, materials from the Public Record Office and other contemporary sources each of the scandals described in the book is located in its own historical and policy context in order to explore the complex cause and effect relationship between public policy and scandal.

About the Author
Ian Butler is Professor of Social Work at the School of Social Relations, Keele University. Mark Drakeford is Professor of Social Policy & Applied Social Sciences in the School of Social Sciences, University of Wales, Cardiff.

Reviews
"Ian Butler and Mark Drakeford address some key issues in the development of social welfare... a fascinating book and one which should be essential reading for all new social workers... provide[s] a convincing account of the ways in which inquiries generate scandals which then provide the raw material for claims about the inadequacies of current services and policies." Andy Alaszewski, British Journal of Social Work
"... an original and thought-provoking book which is very much to be welcomed." Journal of Social Policy



Book Information
ISBN 9781861347466
Author Ian Butler
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Policy Press
Publisher Bristol University Press