At first sight, the answer to the question of the purpose of social work assessment seems self-evident. It is the assessment of need, isn’t it? Or is it a judgement about eligibility? No, it’s a calculation of the match between need and available resources. But then there is the evaluation of risk and of urgency. And so the debate may go on, dispelling any sense that the purpose of assessment is self-evident. It is not surprising that the review of the literature by Crisp and colleagues found that social workers undertake assessments for a range of purposes and that there is no consensus on what those purposes are (Crisp et al, 2003).