ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the exponential growth in activity which characterized chaplaincy under the first 10 years of New Labour. The Coalition Government of David Cameron continued to pursue much of the agenda set by New Labour but with the added vigour of a financial climate that supported its political priority of reducing welfare. The chapter sets out a broad consideration of strategic changes to chaplaincy between 1997 and 2013 to be followed by a more detailed examination of the protracted 'critical incident' at Worcester and an ethnographic exploration of chaplaincy work. Chaplains in England and Wales are employed directly by the NHS which means that issues of pay and representation occur outside the faith communities. In working to develop a proper system of continuing professional development (CPD) the professional bodies were responding to much clearer CPD requirements in the NHS as a whole.
