Local government

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Local government

• Powers functions

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? starter activity
What does local government do?
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What do local authorities do?

• Political functions
• Represent interests of local residents
• Forum for debate
• Accountability for delivery of public services

• Administrative
• Emergency services
• Transport
• Education
• Social Services
• Town planning
• Refuse collection
• Leisure facilities
• Libraries

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Organisation

• County council 500,000 1,500,000
• District councils 4-15 in each county, 100,000

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Other organisations

• London Borough Councils (Governed by Mayor of
  London Greater London Authority)
• Metropolitan District Councils, e.g. Greater
  Manchester or Merseyside
• Unitary authorities creation of single tier
  authorities for large areas, e.g. Wales, Scotland
  and some former counties, e.g. Avon

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Where does its money come from?

• Grants from central government
• Council tax
• Fees and charges, e.g. car parking leisure
  facilities

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Does everyone pay the same level of council tax ?

• Council tax is calculated on the size and value
  of your property.
• These are the charges for residents of Bearsted
  for 2008-2009

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? Your task

• Read p.355-357 and take notes on these areas
• Unitary authorities
• Local government in Scotland Wales
• Local government in London

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? Your task

• How effective have New Labours reforms been?
  Read p.357-358 and create a scales chart
  highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of
  reform following the 2000 Local Govt. Act.

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How has the structure organisation of local
government changed in recent years?

• 1967 Maud Report recommended unitary (one tier)
  authority
• 1974 Local Govt. Act created 2 tier system (e.g.
  GLC operated above London boroughs, county
  council operated above district councils)
• 1980s Thatcher abolished GLC Metropolitan
  Counties and devolved powers down to borough
  district councils

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? Your task

• How effective have New Labours reforms been?
  Read p.357-358 and create a scales chart
  highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of
  reform.

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Advantages

• LAs given choice of management structure
• Structures resembles previous arrangements -
  continuity
• Referendum required greater local
  accountability
• Separation of powers between executive and
  council chamber
• Chamber can monitor executive more effectively

Maidstone Borough Council in session
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Disadvantages

• Councillors have become backbenchers
• Key decisions taken at executive level only
• Executive can be dominated by one party
• Hung councils
• Referendum results mixed Middlesborough 84
  support for mayor, Brighton 62 against low
  turnout, 18 Lewisham
• Referendums forced by grass-roots campaigners
  or central govt.
• Unpopular mayoral candidates

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Should local government be abolished or simply
reformed?
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? Your task

• There are increasing concerns that local
  government is becoming overly political. Read
  p.361 and list evidence that party politics is
  creeping into local politics.

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How important are party politics?

• 1967, Maud Report, 50 councils under independent
  control
• 1986, Widdicombe Report, 16 under independent
  control (83 councillors stood on a party ticket)
• Nationalisation of local politics
• Useful indicator of govt./party popularity (see
  BBC article on 2007 local elections)

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? Your task

• Read the article and compare the ways in which
  the parties interpreted local election results.
  How much has this got to do with local issues?

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Results of 2007 local elections

• Labour lost 505 councillors Councils lost 8
  Councils held 34 
• Cons won 911 Councils won 39 Councils held
  165 
• Lib Dems lost 246 Councils lost 4 Councils
  held 23 
• Others lost 162 Councils lost 0 Councils
  held 5
• No overall control 85 
• Labour got 36 of the votes at the 2005 General
  Election. This time round the percentage support
  was 27. 
• Conservatives support in these local elections
  was 40. 
• Liberal Democrats support was 26

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2007 election voting systems

• Twelve councils piloted the use of various forms
  of electronic voting and it seemingly worked well
  in seven of these councils. However, Warwick,
  Stratford, Breckland, South Bucks and Swindon all
  experienced problems of some kind and had to
  revert to a hand count hence the delays to any
  final declaration. In Swindon and South Bucks the
  computers used crashed. In Breckland the
  perforations at the top of scanned ballot papers
  - if they had not been fully removed confused
  the scanner that rejected those ballot papers. In
  Stratford, the ballot-scanning machines performed
  less well than expected. If a cross on a ballot
  paper was not put exactly in a box, the paper was
  rejected. Warwick also experienced problems with
  their ballot-scanning machines. (from
  Historylearningsite.com)

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?Your task

• Study the table on p.361 on the drawbacks and
  benefits of party control at the local level.
  Summarise each point for and against with a
  single word and try to convert the words into a
  mnemonic.

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• Benefits
• Definition
• Accountability
• Coherence
• Co-ordination
• Principles
• Turnout
• Democracy

• Drawbacks
• Neglect
• Activists
• Party-lines
• Adversarial
• Reversals
• Independents

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? Your task

• How can local authorities be more accountable to
  their constituents? Read p. 74 and p.361-2 and
  lists some ways in which this could be achieved.

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Improving accountability

• Shorter electoral terms (not 4 years)
• Fairer electoral system (not FPTP)
• Widespread use of partial renewal system
• Publicly funded campaigns (currently max spend
  242)
• Wider socio-economic profile (not male, white,
  av. Age 57 professional status)
• Citizens juries or discussion forums
• Deliberative opinion polls / referendums

KCC Councillors
Councillor for Eastry, Kent
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? Your task

• Study the charts on p. 367 p. 368 and the
  commentary on p. 366 -7 and complete the table
  below

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Arguments for

• Inefficiency cost
• Over importance attached to local issues
• Over importance of party-politics
• Public apathy
• Lack of professionalism

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Arguments against

• Contact with local community increases efficiency
  and accountability
• Allows central govt. to test out new legislation
• Defence against central govt.
• Holds public servants to account
• Heritage

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What is the relationship between central local
govt?

• UK is a unitary state central govt.
  (Westminster) has total power to legislate for
  local govt.
• Inspections central govt. can inspect local
  govt. services, e.g. OFSTED Audit Commission
• Doctrine of ultra vires (beyond their authority)
  councillors can be prosecuted
• Acting in default Jul. 1995, Hackney Downs Comp.

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? Your task

• You are going to hold a debate over which
  institution is more accountable Parliament or
  local government. Divide the class in two.
  Nominate a proposer, seconder and concluder for
  each side. The other members of the teams need to
  prepare questions and raise points that will
  expose the weaknesses of their opponents
  arguments.

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? Your task

• Produce a short leaflet explaining how local
  government is improving democracy at the local
  level. Think about the structure of local
  government, how councillors are elected, their
  functions and any reforms that have recently
  taken place to improve its efficiency. Use The
  brochure template on the History Politics
  Website.