This third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, including: (a) The author’s own thinking linking human needs and social rights, which has lately crystallised around a 'post-Marshallian concept of social rights'; a concept which - if practically and accessibly explained - would help to centre and further clarify the approach to Social Policy that previous editions have already taken. (b) New (or resurgent) debates concerning, for example, welfare austerity, precarité and contested notions of 'social investment'. (c) Added focus on the global context and its relevance for Social Policy, especially the ever intensifying significance of migration trends, but also the shifting balance between supra-national and devolved forms of governance. (d) The concluding chapter (on 'The Future of Social Policy') presents a starker view of future options, bringing a slightly different (and perhaps less abstract) emphasis.