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Competition and Public Service Delivery

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Local Government in the 1990s

Part of the book series: Government Beyond the Centre ((GBC))

Abstract

The Government’s attempt to introduce market disciplines into the operation of local authorities through the introduction of competition for services has two main components: the requirement to subject some services to competitive tender and the imposition of internal trading and markets. The tendency is to focus upon the requirement to put work out to tender, but the requirement to operate an internal market has had at least as great an impact, because it has created an ethos of commercialism within the local authority. It is increasingly possible to see the local authority as a set of contracts and quasi-contracts, involving a network of internal and external trading organisations.

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Notes and references

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Authors
  1. Kieron Walsh
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV), University of Birmingham, UK

    John Stewart (Professor of Local Government and Administration) (Professor of Local Government and Administration)

  2. University of Strathclyde, UK

    Gerry Stoker (Professor of Politics) (Professor of Politics)

Copyright information

© 1995 Kieron Walsh

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Cite this chapter

Walsh, K. (1995). Competition and Public Service Delivery. In: Stewart, J., Stoker, G. (eds) Local Government in the 1990s. Government Beyond the Centre. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23815-6_3

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