The publication of the Task Force on social work in England offers some potentially very positive steps forward, a challenge to the managerialism and unrealistic expectations (in terms of workload) that have characterised British social work in recent years. However, there are still many questions that remain: Will the Government provide adequate financial support to translate the potential into reality? Will next year's general election change the political landscape in relation to social work? Will Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland develop similar approaches? Will we, as a profession, be able to capitalise on the opportunities now available to us? Or will we, as a result of the problems the Task Force report highlights, be at such a low ebb that we do not rise fully to the challenge?

The Task Force report is at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/swtf/