The three key messages from the 21st Century Social Work Review were:

• Doing more of the same won't work. Increasing demand, greater complexity and rising expectations mean that the current situation is not sustainable
• Social work services don't have all the answers. they need to work closely with other universal providers in all sectors to find new ways to design and deliver services across the public sector
• Social worker's skills are highly valued and increasingly relevant to the changing needs of society. Yet we are far from making the best use of these skills

Changing Lives, the response to the Review, made clear the need for transformational change of social work services if they were to be able to cope with future demand and requirements, and provided a platform and direction for improvement.

The aspiration for Changing Lives is improving outcomes for individuals, families and communities and work remains focussed on two key areas:

• Developing the capacity to deliver personalised services;
• Building a confident, competent and valued workforce

Transformation of social work services to better meet people's needs requires major cultural change, as well as visionary leadership at national and local levels. It will continue to need concerted effort, collaborative working and for every one of us to play our part, and be willing to challenge and to be challenged to ensure delivery of the services needed for the 21st century.