Introduction

The concept of ‘vulnerability’ has come to play an important role in shaping policies and interventions targeted at intervening in the lives of certain social groups. In times of economic austerity, ideas about vulnerability and the prioritisation of ‘the vulnerable’ have particular significance in the allocation of welfare resources in the UK. As one example, pledges to afford special protections to ‘the vulnerable’ appeared 13 times as the coalition government announced its first major public spending cuts in the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review (HM Treasury, 2010b). Despite increased tendencies to organise welfare, resources and policies on the basis of vulnerability, this strategy rarely seems to come under scrutiny. This chapter examines the implications of a focus on ‘the vulnerable’ in UK social policy, situating vulnerability discourses within a context of behavioural regulation, social control and decreasing welfare resources. It is argued that although ideas about vulnerability seem to resonate strongly with the pursuit of social justice and the protection of those who need it most, notions of ‘the vulnerable’ move beyond protection, operating in a much more complex way; especially in relation to supportive and controlling interventions, inclusion and exclusion, and in ‘qualifications’ for welfare.

There are many different respects in which a person or group can be identified as vulnerable, with manifold implications. Although most often not clearly defined (Chambers, 1989; Mulcahy, 2004; Daniel, 2010), vulnerability tends to function in official arenas as a summarising concept that alerts us to the need and moral obligation to take action (Goodin, 1985). It can be used in ways that imply that it is innate or natural (as in the case of babies or pregnant women, for example) or it can be configured in terms of being situational and tied to certain predicaments or transgressions such as homelessness, domestic violence or involvement in sex work. Where it appears in its situational sense, the notion often refers to people who might be facing negative circumstances, with the implication that situations or events are not the fault of the particular person experiencing them. ‘Vulnerability’ is therefore a concept that is closely connected to judgements about human agency and ‘deservingness’, raising questions about how far the concept might be significant within selectively focused welfare systems.