Local Government into the 1990s
| DOI | 10.1177/095207678800300302 |
| Author | M. G. Clarke |
| Published date | 01 July 1988 |
| Date | 01 July 1988 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Editorial
Local
Government
into
the
1990s
Teachers,
researchers
and
others
with
an
interest
in
local
government
can
be
forgiven
for
a
counsel
of
despair.
The
last
decade
and
more
has
seen
an
apparent
attack
on
so
much
that
local
government
seems
to
stand
for.
The
financial
screw
has
been
tightened,
officers
and
members
have been
vilified
for
profligacy
and
inefficiency,
and
a
series
of
steps
taken
-
by
statute
and
regulations
-
to
con-
strain
activity
and
initiative.
The
current
programme
of
legislation
looks
like
just
another
step
in
a
seemingly
inexorable
process.
But
to
despair
is
to
be
misled.
Those
same
teachers,
researchers
and
interested
onlookers
need
to
reflect
more
deeply
on
what
is
happening
and
encourage
some
sense
of
hope.
Change
may
be
in
the
air,
but
that
change
carries
with
it
opportuni-
ties.
All
who
have
an
involvement
with
local
government
-
particularly
in
pro-
viding
external
support
to
officers
or
members
-
need
to
help
with
an
exhaustive
exploration
of
the
opportunities.
At
the
heart
of
what
is
happening
is
a
re-definition
of
the
role
of
the
local
authority.
That
carries
with
it
a
whole
range
of
implications
-
two,
the
changes
this
will
imply
for
officers
on
the
one
hand,
and
members
on
the
other,
stand
out.
The
present
system
of
local
government
rests
on
a
number
of
long-accepted
assumptions.
Two
are
central.
The
first
is
the
self-sufficiency
of
the
local
authori-
ty.
Parliament
endows
local
government
with
a
responsibility.
This
is
given
to
a
particular
class
of
authority
to
discharge.
It
is
discharged
by
those
authorities
through
their
own
resources
without
recourse
to
the
help
of
others.
Organisation
and
staffing
complement
are
adjusted
to
match
the
new
necessity.
The
drive
to
amalgamate
to
produce
fewer
and
larger
authorities,
culminating
in
the
1974-75
reorganisations
is
witness
to
the
basic
assumption.
The
second
assumption
is
about
monopoly
or
majority
provision.
Once
give
to
local
government,
it
is
assumed
that
it
will
take
sole
or
most
responsibility
for
its
discharge.
Choice
among
providers
is
not
encouraged
or,
if
it
is,
within
tight
con-
straints.
These
two
assumptions
are
being
challenged
in
order
to
redefine
the
role
of
local
government.
No
longer
will
the
local
authority
be
the
self-sufficient,
near
monopoly
provider.
It
will
become
the
enabler,
orchestrating
a
whole
range
of
pro-
vision
on
behalf
of
its
community.
This
new
role
all
be
given
a
limited
definition:
simply
passing
to
others
chunks
of
its
stat
.ory
provisions
to
discharge
on
its
behalf.
Or
it
can
be
given
wider
meaning,
the
local
authority
taking
a
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
3
No.
3
Winter
1988
I
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