ABSTRACT
Social policy analysts have traditionally been concerned with the financial welfare provided by the state in the form of social security payments, means tested benefits and tax allowances. However, the past twenty years have seen a dramatic expansion in the financial services provided by the private sector, which now involves seven per cent of the GDP and employs more people than the National Health Service (Treasury Committee 1999b:69). So should the scope of social policy be extended to include the financial services sector and its impact on financial welfare?
