Formal and Informal Sources of Care

Abstract

Britain, like most other industrial societies, has a pluralistic system of welfare provision. Indeed the term ‘welfare pluralism’ means nothing more than a diversity of sources of welfare provision and service delivery (Gladstone, 1979; Rea Price et al. 1987; N. Johnson, 1987). It is generally recognised that services are organised and delivered by a variety of sources, usually identified (by Wolfenden, 1978, for example) as the statutory, voluntary, commercial and informal sectors.