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The government is waking up to the purchasing power and electoral influence of Britain's pensioners. But what of those who are poor as well as old? I have seen the [...]

Libraries, leisure centres, home care: such local authority services are being handed over to private firms on an astonishing scale. Best value. We keep hearing about it, but what is [...]

Do we really need an inquiry into Anna Climbie's death? Judy Hirst argues that we should already know the answers -- from 50 or so similar inquiries So who killed [...]

Even flooding discriminates socially. As the waters recede, Judy Hirst finds the poor at the back of the queue for future protection Minister for floods? Until recently, it was a [...]

Fuel protesters and pensioners accuse Tony Blair of not listening. In fact, this government is engaged in more consultation exercises than ever. 'So, how do people think we might tackle [...]

New Labour wants social inclusion, but seems reluctant to fund special needs education. Is this not a form of segregation? They used to be called handicapped, thick, retarded. In these [...]

The Cinderella social care sector is about to face further upheavals. Once again, the primary purpose is to save money, argues Jean is feeding a teatime snack to her son, [...]

From after-school clubs to cancer care, public services are increasingly funded by the Lottery and provided, on the cheap, by the voluntary sector. Voluntary organisations. Just who do they think [...]

Schemes to teach 'social skills' multiply at a dizzying rate. But the unemployed know how to chat to their neighbours; what they need is work. Steve doesn't have a car, [...]

A year ago, a Royal Commission on old people reported. Ministers did not care for its recommendations. So what happened? From the outside, John Kennedy Lodge -- with its mellow, [...]

The affluent society, say some experts, has led to mental illness in one in five children. Judy Hirst suggests that we are just dealing with the old problems of poverty [...]