Planning and the State

Abstract

This chapter and the next look at the different organisations which together constitute the public sector where planning is concerned, outlining the main features of the various types of organisation. Four types are distinguished: those in central government, those in local government, quangos and the European Union. Much of the detail of how these different organisations are involved in different areas of planning practice will be covered in the separate chapters on particular policies in Part 3. It is not intended to anticipate those details here; rather, the emphasis will be on the characteristics of the organisations and the broad patterns of interrelation. To set these points in context, different ways of analysing the public sector are discussed first.