If there is a pressing need for state-run computer dating, the case
has not been made out. On the face of it, the concept of 'welfare' seems to take in every
aspect of a person's life - physical, emotional, material and spiritual. Robson, writing about
the 'welfare state', emphasises that 'welfare is of unlimited scope'. (1976, p.174) But in
practice, the concept is rather more limited than a general concern with 'well-being' would
suggest. In the context of social policy, the idea of 'welfare' refers primarily to physical and
material well-being - not because the areas of emotional and spiritual life are irrelevant, but
because it is normally considered to be beyond the scope of the social services to provide
for them.