Scottish Local Government

Description

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748620050);This book fills an important gap in our understanding of Scottish local government in the dynamic new context of the Scottish Parliament. It provides academics, students, practitioners, journalists and others with a broad-ranging yet detailed account, not just of how local government actually works, but also the main political issues and debates surrounding its multi-faceted roles in contemporary Scotland.It covers issues such asThe nature and purpose of Scottish local governmentThe strengths and weaknesses of unitary authoritiesModernisation of political management arrangementsRoles and remuneration for councillorsElectoral reform and new methods for encouraging citizen participationThe growth of non-elected local governanceBest Value and the rise of the performance cultureThe politics of council finance: including business rates, Council Tax and PFIThe wider context of central-local relations, multi-level governance and globalizationThe book contains a wealth of facts, figures, tables and diagrams. The accompanying analysis draws, in a supportive way, on literature from the traditions of public policy, public administration and political science. The end result is an original, modern, accessible analysis of Scottish local government in the context of devolution. A particular focus throughout is assessing the 'distinctiveness' of Scottish local government compared to the rest of the UK, and addressing the question - to what extent has devolution made a difference to Scottish local government?Key FeaturesOnly modern work of its kind - fills a gap in our understanding of local government in ScotlandAccessible - offers the facts of how Scottish local government works, combined with incisive political analysisPlaces Scottish local government in the context of the Scottish Parliament, Westminster, the EU and an increasingly globalised world