From Committees to Leaders and Cabinets

Abstract

For many years now the internal workings of local authorities in Britain have been subject to repeated proposals for change. Inefficiency, lack of accountability, the slow and cumbersome nature of the committee system, together with an apparent inability to attract councillors of the right calibre, have all been seen as problems to be tackled through reform (Rao, 1994). Current moves to radically restructure council structures and management may, then, be seen as the culmination of nearly 30 years of discontent with the decision-making process.