I was keen to review this book since its title suggested to me a radical and challenging approach to ideas about support to people in their old age. In fact the book does emphasise the importance of considering older people within an inclusive agenda, and as Payne states in his introduction, to see that ‘citizenship social work starts from the idea that older people are equal as citizens of any society’ (p. xi). The premise that underpins this statement of intent is that this is not necessarily the experience of many people as they grow older, nor does it always appear to be an obvious assumption in the processes of the agencies tasked to support them. So, while the book provides an overview of the theoretical ideas, policy and practice suggestions about older people, it also seeks to challenge any thinking that might see them as anything less than full citizens. This is most obviously addressed throughout the text by numerous examples of case studies and anecdotes. These serve to illustrate some of the main points being made, but also provide a way of exploring some of the stereotypes and common assumptions that occur in practice, and continually remind the reader of the citizenship focus of the title. These case examples provide a rich source of stories, and support the ‘Pause and Reflect’ sections suggested by the author. However, although interesting, at times, I did find them distracting from the flow of the text and theoretical information being discussed.

Payne splits the book into two sections. In the initial section of three chapters he writes about the social context for social work with older people. The first chapter explores some theories about ageing and the experience of older people. Chapter 2 looks at the idea of integration, both as a concept which suggests services should work together, and also as a principle of inclusivity in supporting the lives of older people. Chapter 3 leads on to explore the range of social provision both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This chapter focuses on the widest view of the range of means that would support quality of life, challenging a narrow organisational focus on provision and social work.

The second half of the book moves on to explore skills and approaches that might be used for the practice of social work with older people. Payne covers a number of general approaches and principles familiar to most social work practitioners. There is discussion and adaptation about how these general approaches might be used with older people. There are also specific chapters on particular approaches to social work that are relevant to this group i.e. critical practice; creative work and the use of the arts; and group and community-based interventions. While these chapters provide an overview of ideas and principles that will be useful for all social workers and students, significantly, there appears to be little reference to the bureaucratic and organisational contexts within which older people may come to the attention of many social workers. Issues such as safeguarding priorities, risk assessment or pressures created by the integration of health and social care services, are not addressed directly and so perhaps present a somewhat unrealistic view of the situations many social workers face. So while I think the book could provide inspirational and thought-provoking reading to students and social workers seeking to support older people, they may well be left with the issues of how to incorporate these approaches within an unsupportive organisational environment.

The final chapter of the book returns to social exclusion issues. Here ageism and inequality are discussed explicitly, as is a theme of safeguarding and end-of-life work. Again these issues are covered in a clear way that will help social workers and students clarify key ideas and approaches. But inevitably they provide a brief overview of concepts rather than exploring these issues of social work practice in depth. It is perhaps this that characterises the book. It provides a stimulating and broad international perspective on a range of ideas and services relevant to citizens of an older generation. However, while achieving this, it did not also address some of the specific challenges of the practice of social work for this group in more depth and so for me was a somewhat frustrating text.