Changing Notions of Accountability: A Social Policy View

Abstract

The notion of accountability in social policy has changed to reflect changes in the UK public sector. In the 1960s and 1970s, professional accountability was seen as compatible with the development of the welfare state. Accountability was in fact rarely discussed but this changed as ideas about consumerism and citizen participation took hold. Accountability to service users became accepted, albeit briefly. The growth of systems of financial control and cash limiting of public sector services have led to demands for greater accountability to central government. Considers the growth of these views and the parallel development of managerialism within organizations in the context of the police and the probation service.

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