ABSTRACT
The claim that there are spatial variations in care provision, and indeed in the restructuring of care provision between areas, is not new. Geographers' interest in welfare reform and the uneven effects of deinstitutionalisation is evident in work that spans over two decades. Spatial variations in care were also found to operate between local authority areas, incorporating issues of geographical significance that operate regardless of urban/rural difference. Statutory and informal actants drew attention to a number of factors that impact on the experience of care restructuring in rural locales. Care policy emphasises the need to tailor services to individual need, with the corollary that needs should take account of local availability and patterns of service. In Dumfries and Galloway, the impact of local authority restructuring has been of limited significance. Recent change arising from the implementation of policy emanating from central government was of much greater significance to the manifestation of care restructuring within Glasgow City.
