Throughout the long, complex and sometimes convoluted histories of social welfare in Britain, it is possible to identify various continuities and interconnections alongside seemingly unconnected transformations in policies, practices and assumptions. Imputing causal links between historical policies, practices and perspectives is difficult and remains, for the most part, tentative, as does searching for the catalysts that led to innovative developments, if, indeed, there are any. However, when we consider the contexts and practices of British social welfare as a whole, we can begin to discern common features that erect a scaffolding for understanding some of the underlying assumptions and overt beliefs held about social welfare among policy makers and the general public, alongside those practising in welfare settings. It is central to negotiating current policy and practice, and to future welfare developments, to have an awareness of this architecture so that nuances, complexities and entrenched beliefs are illuminated and subject to disquisition. It addresses questions about why social welfare policies should follow certain paths and why practices may complement or challenge these directions. The interconnections, continuing and seemingly disconnected themes include:

• • The twin drivers of economy and compassion as a means of suppressing potential violent conflict and social disturbance which are manifest throughout the history of social welfare. The balance has been achieved through limited assistance through outdoor relief, less eligibility through the Poor Laws, and various shifts in the development and continual reformation of the welfare state.

• • Elements of both care and control which permeate the creation and development of formalised social welfare systems. Care and control link directly to economic interests and compassion in providing a workforce healthy enough to be economically viable and one that is behaviourally compliant and morally in tune with the vested interests of those providing and controlling welfare.

• • Those with vested interests who are often able to set the terms of social organisation and hierarchy through underlying belief systems and political ideologies, affecting the will and agency of others. These assumed and unspoken systems of behaviour and belief influence what is considered appropriate or acceptable in respect of social welfare and its receipt, creating a closed system of control.