Local Government Reorganisation - The Contemporary Debate

Abstract

Chapter 4 outlined the development of local government up until the end of the 1980s. Since then, however, the re-organisation debate has raged. The focus for debate was the establishment in 1992 of the Local Government Commission for England (under Sir John Banham) alongside similar scrutinies of structure in both Scotland and Wales by their respective Secretaries of State. This chapter examines the establishment of the Commission with its unitary authority focus. It also provides some information about the Commission’s first sets of recommendations along with those of the Welsh and Scottish Secretaries. Finally, the complex issue of whether or not structural reform can ever be ‘neutral’ is discussed.