Eligibility Criteria: A Case of Muddling Through? Available to Purchase

Prioritising in social services is not new. What has changed in the last ten years is that there has been a more open debate about the way in which scarce resources are rationed and a move towards explicit policies of eligibility and targeting of services. Most authorities have developed some statement of priority with which to guide the allocation of resources, though authorities vary widely in their approach. This article looks at the current state of play in this controversial policy area.