Choice has become a central – and much debated – theme of New Labour's approach to the reform of public service. In this article we examine the conditions and consequences of the indeterminacy of choice in political discourse, policy development and organisational dynamics. We suggest that the under-specification of choice in political and policy settings risks devolving the stresses of indeterminacy to service organisations and their interactions with the public. We explore some of the public's ambivalence about choice and public services and conclude by offering two ways of thinking about the indeterminacy of choice – treating choice as a condensate and as a proxy.

Since coming to office, New Labour has made much of a ‘public philosophy’ that stresses the importance of equal access to opportunities. This article does not so much criticise this fairly modest understanding of social justice as ask whether the kind of social policies that New Labour has devised are capable of delivering ‘opportunity for all’. The suggestion is that, because ‘targeted’ policies – Labour's local regeneration initiatives are the example taken here – face intrinsic difficulties as vehicles for social inclusion and thus greater equality of access to opportunity, they need to be supported by a wider commitment to distributive justice.

Childcare provision in Britain has improved in terms of its quality, accessibility and affordability, but still much more has to be done, especially in meeting the needs of minority ethnic groups. Household research with Chinese and Bangladeshi families including grandparents, parents and children was conducted to account for their childcare needs. The findings indicate that, while there are a number of similarities between the two groups, there are also significant differences that influence household practices and preferences with regard to childcare. The qualitative data illustrate the diverse and dynamic nature of minority ethnic households, while also drawing out policy implications for socially inclusive childcare planning.

This paper uses a unique national dataset to examine the attitudes and living standards of older people (aged 60 and over) living in urban areas of China, including their living arrangements and income levels, and their attitudes to family-based and other forms of support. The results indicate that although there have been substantial improvements in the overall living conditions of the majority of older people in China, marked differences remain in the economic circumstances of sub-groups classified by age and, more particularly, gender. Many of today's older people are also wedded to traditional attitudes and patterns of behaviour, and informal family support remains important – for men and women, as well as for younger and older groups among those aged 60 and over.

The past decade has seen significant change within social policy and society in the Republic of Korea (South Korea – we will usually refer to South Korea simply as Korea in the following papers unless there is a need to distinguish between the North and South Koreas). From an economically driven welfare policy and limited democracy, through the introduction of a democratic state and the economic crisis of 1997, Korea is currently experiencing significant reform within its social policy and within society. This reform has been variously described as ‘productive welfare’, ‘transformational’ and ‘developmental’ (Kwon, 2003). Societal changes, including the increased involvement of women in the labour market and increased participation through democratic processes, challenge the family and the organisational hierarchies of the traditional Confucian society and globalisation and rapid developments in information technology and communications have brought western influences and ideas.

This paper discusses and compares the origin and development of the health care systems of South Korea and the UK from the end of WW2 and endeavours to compare outcomes. The paper emphasises the importance of war as a stimulus to the development of national health services in both countries and argues that there is convergence between the UK's nationalised NHS and South Korea's US-modelled capitalist system. Overall, we conclude that there is a possibility not only that the financing and nature of the Korean and UK health care delivery systems may show convergence, but it is not impossible that they will ‘change places’ with the UK system dominated by private provision and South Korea's by public provision.

Social enterprise has become an important component of governmental social and economic policy in both the UK and South Korea over the last decade. Both countries have experienced a growth in social businesses, with the UK recently adopting targets for the number of social enterprises established. Whilst the emphasis in the UK has been on their role in developing mixed economies of care and building entrepreneurial skills in deprived communities, the South Korean model has been more closely allied to US ‘welfare to work’ strategies. The paper explores these differences and critically examines the capacity of social enterprises to meet wider social and economic objectives.

South Korea is rapidly becoming an aged society and with changing family structures there is increasing concern about the care of older people. This paper considers the well being of family carers of older people who suffer from dementia or a stroke. One hundred and sixty eight family caregivers, who were caring for elderly relatives, were selected and the major factors affecting their psychological well-being and proposals to improve their quality of life are identified and discussed.

From the 1960s onwards opportunities for employment for disabled people have been promoted by the South Korean government and recent research has focused on the achievements of policies in this area. However people with learning disabilities have largely been ignored in this research. The paper draws on a study which used research methods designed explicitly to enable people with learning disabilities to participate and their voices to be heard. The findings highlight the failure of current policies to provide suitable employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities and the paper concludes with some recommendations.

South Korea is a leading country in the use of computers and broadband. The paper will show how young Koreans, who have been brought up within a hierarchical, family focused society, now find that they are able to create and have power within ‘their own world’ using information technology. Parents, government and IT companies have encouraged the use of IT by young people but there is now concern about ‘internet addiction’. The paper considers the changing power relationships and discusses the policy and practice changes required to ensure a more balanced use of the internet.

The paper examines the potential value of their cross-cultural study experience to international students studying social policy in the UK and draws on a small exploratory study, focusing on Korean students, to consider how the cross-cultural experience may be enhanced to enable students to develop a critical awareness of their own and their host country's culture and social policy.

In addition to the texts and journal papers referenced in the papers there a number of recent texts which focus on the social policy and socio-cultural developments in Korea.