Description:
Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
As devolution transforms governance across the UK, local authorities face unprecedented challenges in delivering services whilst managing severe budgetary constraints. This book investigates and provides insights into how local governments operate within Britain's evolving constitutional framework.
This comprehensive edited collection examines the realities of devolved powers across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, revealing why simply transferring responsibilities from Westminster hasn't reduced social inequalities. The authors identify critical pressure points -- from inadequate expertise to accountability failures -- that undermine local governance effectiveness.
Essential reading for public administration scholars, policy makers, and practitioners seeking evidence-based solutions to strengthen local democracy and promote social justice through better territorial governance.
Review Quotes: 'This book brings together an outstanding group of experts to examine financial and legal issues in local government. Despite the obvious importance of local government services in everyday life, there is relatively little scholarly analysis of the challenges affecting local authorities, faced with an ever-changing political climate and worsening financial pressures. A particular strength of the book is that the contributors are able to combine detailed legal analysis, for example, of local authorities' statutory obligations, with a rich understanding of the practical and financial constraints within which they must be fulfilled. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in law and policy relating to local government from both practical and constitutional perspectives.' Anne Davies, University of Oxford