ABSTRACT
Switzerland displays a very powerful pluralist tradition which inhibits any concentration of power and generally tends to favour gradualist approaches to change in policies or structures. There are some moves towards greater harmonisation and a degree of greater centralisation in the determination of the levels of benefit payable within Social Assistance. Given the extremely limited role of the federal government, the crucial relationships are those between the canton and its communes. The social aid schemes are intended to cover any persons resident in Switzerland who are unable to support themselves and their families by their own efforts. The essential raison d’etre of the Swiss Social Assistance schemes is that decisions should be founded on a detailed evaluation of the particular circumstances. The big unknown is the extent to which lessening stigma, greater public knowledge of guideline figures, the higher profile of the civil rights debate culminating, possibly, in constitutional change may stimulate demand and generate much higher take-up.
