Local Government

Abstract

This chapter examines the long-standing concerns of managers in local authorities, above ail with the tendency of local authorities to fragment into a sériés of largely autonomous departments which are not subject to corporate control in terms of policy and the management of resource allocation – or where control in terms of these activities is weak. After examining how local government and those involved in it responded to this besetting problem during the 1970s, we explore the impact of new demands in the 1980s and 1990s, especially for reduced expenditure, exposure to compétition and greater responsiveness to citizens’ needs and requirements. We then consider the effects of the ending of the postwar social welfare consensus, including demands for local government services to be both reduced and exposed to market compétition. These have resulted in considérable change and a réduction in the scope of local authority powers and functions. We also examine the changes which were inspired by the ‘New Urban Left’ in the early 1980s (Gyford, 1985; Hampton, 1991). These changes were intended to increase citizens’ contact with and participation in local authority decision-making and service provision – especially members of minority groups who have traditionally not participated and have become alienated from public authorities. However, the long spell of Conservative government since 1979 has pushed this second set of reforms increasingly into the background.