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This article reviews the evidence on the benefits of innovative practice‐based social work, in the context of attempts to improve multi‐agency collaboration through structural change, procedural regulation and process redesign. It concludes that the model can generate improvements in productivity and in responses to customer needs.

This article discusses the results of a comparative evaluation of a social worker in primary care with her equivalents in an area team. Direct referral is found to be more efficient than referral to the area team, enabling the attached social worker to manage a higher workload and improved levels of contact with service users and the primary care team. The options available for service users are thus enhanced, with consequent cost advantages for the social services department.

This paper describes a dispersed service operated by Age Concern Leominster in North Herefordshire. The service uses local facilities to offer day‐care services to older people living in isolated rural communities. Discussion focuses on the challenges facing a service provider in developing and maintaining a localised service across a diverse range of communities, and presents a series of essential strategies for success.

The importance of rehabilitation in promoting independence is recognised in current policy directives on the provision of care to older and disabled people, but has not been widely established within the spectrum of services provided by local authorities. AWorcestershire‐based re‐ablement service presents an effective model of joint working to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary assessments and a therapeutic intervention service aimed at reducing dependency and promoting service users' choice and control over their care programmes.

The aim of the research was to scope issues of concern at transition for young people with learning disabilities and mental health problems/challenging behaviour from the perspective of parent carers, using a focus group interview consisting of ten participants, including one facilitator and administrative support. The interview was tape‐recorded, transcribed and thematically coded using Microsoft Word and NVivo. Two case vignettes were used to stimulate the discussion. Several themes emerged from analysis of the transcripts: access to information about rights and the services available for their son or daughter, and conflicts between carers and professionals. The experience of parent carers of people with learning disabilities is still not well understood. By understanding the views and experiences of parent carers, transition can be facilitated and concerned parties can work together to achieve better results.