Local government in Britain : everyone's guide to how it all works
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Local government in Britain : everyone's guide to how it all works
（Penguin politics）
Penguin, 1994
6th ed
Available at 11 libraries
Note
Previous ed.: 5th ed. repr. with revisions. 1992
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
We all rely on local government to protect us from crime, fire and environmental dangers, and to provide education, welfare, housing and sports facilities, yet many people are ignorant of how it all works. In this study, aimed at consumers and students, activists and workers in the field, Tony Byrne offers a survey of the history, structures and functions of local government, the regional, parish and county picture, the recent impact of parties and pressure groups, how councils and committees operate, and the crucial issues of control and finance. This updated sixth edition considers the extensive changes in management style and culture of recent years and the continuing moves towards the complete restructuring of local government. The latest developments and arguments are explored, as is the reality of the links between local government and local communities.
By offering a balanced approach to controversial topics such as Council Tax and capping, the extension of competitive tendering/contracting out of services and the increasingly "enabling" role of local authorities, the book provides the reader with no simple answers; instead, it offers a sufficiently critical account to let us all decide for ourselves.
Table of Contents
- What Local Government Is
- An Evolving System
- The Structure of Local Government
- The Functions of Local Government
- London's Local Government
- Local Government Elections
- The Political Parties
- The Councillors
- Internal Organization - The Council and its Committees
- Internal Organization - The Officers
- Finance
- Controls and Influences
- Local Government and the Local Community
- Into the Nineties - Managing (More) Change. Appendixes: The Changing Pattern of Local Government
- The Functions of Principal Local Authorities
- Election Contests and Turnout 1945-70
- An Example of a County Council Agenda
- An Example of a Committee Agenda
- An Example of Committee Structure
- An Example of Departmental Structure
- Somerset County Council's Education Department (1980)
- Taunton Deane Borough Council Statement of Expenses (1980-81)
- Functions of Parish Councils in England and Community Councils in Wales
- Income and Expenditure Pattern of Parish Councils
- An Extract from the Standing Orders of Somerset County Council
- An Example of a Schedule of Delegation of Powers to Officers
- Council Tax Valuation Bands
- An Example of an Audit Commission Profile
- The Local Government and Housing Act 1989
- Range of Involvement in Local Politics.
by "Nielsen BookData"