Trust and confidence

Social work is often seen as a technical activity based on systems of specialist knowledge and evidence of ‘what works’, particular role expectations, regulatory frameworks and law. Although systems have no moral agency, individual encounters between social workers and service users are morally charged insofar as they impact directly on service users’ wellbeing. This paper argues that the ‘modernisation’ agenda in social care privileges confidence in systems over trust in moral agents. Relying on confidence neglects the role of trust and moral competence in human affairs and has significant consequences for service users and the nature of social work