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There has been much research focusing on contracting and its effect on individual voluntary sector organisation, and some mapping of the extent of voluntary sector participation in joint community care planning. Each of these is a new and formal relationship with the statutory sector, and in many cases the tasks are fulfilled by the same voluntary sector worker (usually the senior paid officer of the agency). But the impact that these two new relationships have on the voluntary organisation’s perception of its dependence and inter‐dependence has received less attention. The paper will draw on structured interviews in three local authorities, with voluntary sector participants in contracts for social care, and with participants in joint community care planning groups, as well as on documentary research. It will explore the impact of the evolving roles for those seeking to operate effectively in the pluralist provision of public services. It will analyse experiences within joint community care planning structures, and will analyse experiences of contractual relationships. The paper will seek to identify the elements present in each research site which influence the culture of joint working within the two statutory/ voluntary relationships.

This case study reflects on issues raised by four case studies in the ‘mixed economy’ of community care (published in earlier issues of this journal). It connects these with wider policy issues arising from new patterns of delivery of local public services. The ‘local governance’ agenda reinforces the need for collaborative approaches with the private and voluntary sectors. However, in the context of market forces and conflicting values, ‘partnerships’ are fragile, service quality can be undermined by technical and financial contractual considerations, and it is all too easy to exclude ‘citizens’ from service planning. Finally, although British central‐local government relations are often antagonistic, the local implementation of community care legislation demonstrates yet again the pragmatism of local government and its ability to take on and develop the new role of democratic ‘enabler’.

In 2010, the Department of Health announced its intention to pilot arrangements for independent adult social work practices to exercise local authorities' adult social care functions. Supporting legislation was not made until August 2011. This paper seeks to illustrate the legal obstacles that local authorities ordinarily face if they intend for third‐party involvement in adult social care to extend beyond the provision of services.

This paper is an analysis of the Contracting Out (Local Authorities Social Services Functions) (England) Order, 2011.

The principal findings of this paper are twofold. After some delay, the Department of Health has put in place a legal framework to support the piloting of independent adult social work practices. The need for new law illustrates the general limitations faced by authorities that wish to contract out their adult social care decision‐making functions.

The paper's value lies in the analysis of the legal obstacles faced by local authorities who wish deeply to integrate their adult social care functions within the activities of third‐party providers.

This paper seeks to set out the Law Commission's final recommendations for the reform of adult social care, including the community care assessment process, service provision, and the recommendations for a new legal framework for adult safeguarding in England and Wales.

The paper discusses each of the Law Commission's recommendations for adult social care and contrasts them with the proposals put forward at the consultation phase of the review.

The paper argues that a single legal framework for adult social care, including adult safeguarding, will have substantial benefits in terms of legal clarity, consistency, and efficiency. A clear and single legal framework is important for older and disabled people, and their carers, in order to understand fully their entitlements, and for local authorities and partnership agencies (such as the NHS and the police) in order to fully understand their responsibilities.

The paper provides a clear summary of the Law Commission's final report – in particular the recommendations for community care assessments and service provision and adult safeguarding.

A recent Law Commission paper claims that the law on adult social care is complex and based on outdated concepts, and therefore needs to be reformed. The boundary between health care and social care services is less clear than it once was, but its existence can be damaging to service users. Although there is good evidence of integrated working, more needs to be done. Existing duties could be consolidated, or health care and social care bodies ‐ and perhaps others ‐ could be placed under a general duty to co‐operate.

This article examines the impact on disabled children and their families of the Children Act 1989 from the author's perspective of close involvement in this area of policy from 1992 to 2005. It argues that the inclusion of disabled children explicitly for the first time in children's legislation marked a necessary step in seeing disabled children as children first. Two main areas of concern about the effectiveness of the Act's implementation are highlighted. First, provisions in the Act for disabled children living away from home in health and education establishments have been widely ignored and are now seen as inadequate. Second is whether the provisions regarding short breaks (respite care) have been effective in providing the sort of support that families need at the required levels. The article suggests that passing legislation may be insufficient in itself to have much impact on the lives of disabled children.

Although there has been a commitment to develop a policy framework to support vulnerable adults at risk of abuse, there remains concern around its lack of use within National Health Service inpatient settings and mental health services in particular. A gap between policy and practice appears to have developed, which leaves inpatients vulnerable to inadequate responses to allegations of adult abuse. This article will provide a critical overview of the policy and practice issues that affect the use of adult protection procedures.

The safeguarding and protection components of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 offers the culmination of four years consultation in England and Wales by the Law Commission and many years of evolving policy and practice with a view to protecting adults from harm. The purpose of this paper is to offer both scrutiny and challenge for Wales’ policy makers and practitioners alike.

The paper is a critical analysis of both current responses and forthcoming changes.

The paper proposes that Wales has failed to implement previous recommendations in relation to institutional abuse. Currently in Wales, there are individuals employed in safeguarding lead roles who have no social care qualification. This apparent “loophole” has not to date been highlighted to date by either of the regulatory bodies within Wales (CSSIW/CCfW).

The paper offers a viewpoint but leaves some questions unanswered.

The Williams Review in April 2014 is set to change the local authority landscape in Wales. There is scope for developing the function of adult safeguarding.

Wales’ failure to recognize institutionalized abuse as a distinct category may have had impacted on its ability to respond to abuse in nursing and care as well hospital settings.

The failure to recognize institutional abuse is not the only safeguarding anomaly within Wales’ arrangements for protecting those are risk of abuse. This paper describes gaps in the NHS and of professional accountability.

The article addresses issues raised in this Journal (Vol. 3, Issue 1) on the relationship between supporting people and neighbourhood renewal. Using findings from an actionresearch project, it argues the case for placing community care within a social inclusion framework which uses a community development approach.

This paper describes how front‐line workers in Wales experience care management. A minority of workers felt that the aims of community care were being achieved whilst few of the core tasks of care management were felt by a majority of respondents to be working well. Lack of time and resources were viewed as major constraints upon good care management practice and infrastructure supports were found to be inadequate. The findings raise key questions over the structure and practice of care (case) management and point to a number of areas in which policy and practice might be improved.