Councillors have a vital role to play if communities are to make the most of the opportunities offered by localism, and people from all walks of life should be encouraged to stand at local elections. Councillors are spending less time in council chambers and more time out and about in their communities. In future, they will increasingly need to be on the frontline, working with constituents and external organisations such as GPs, schools, police, local businesses and voluntary organisations to ensure their communities make the most of all the opportunities available to them. The Committee also found that both local and central government had to devolve power and resources to support councillors. The Committee identifies three key practical barriers to people becoming and remaining councillors: Some people are put off by the time commitment involved; Employers do not always take a positive view of staff becoming councillors and may not give them the support or time off required; The levels of allowances paid to Councillors to cover their expenses as few councillors will vote themselves higher allowances even if there is a legitimate reason for doing so, because it provokes so much public controversy - councils should be given the power to transfer decisions about allowances to independent local bodies. The inquiry also raised questions about the support and training that councillors receive. Several innovative models for empowering councillors are also mentioned in the report, such as devolving budgets, giving councillors front line duties and an ability to respond rapidly to local concerns.

Town and Country Planning in the UK provides one of the most authoritative and comprehensive accounts of British planning history, institutions, legislation, policies, processes and practices. This 16th edition has been substantially revised and re-organised to provide an up-to-date overview of the planning systems in the four nations of the UK, supported by analyses, interpretations, illustrations and examples from planning practice. The new edition features: details of the legislative and policy changes since 2015 and discussion of their implications, including the early stages of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, 2023 discussion of environmental policies and programmes and the impact of Brexit on environmental regulatory landscape in Britain changes to climate change and resilience policies, notably the government’s ‘Net Zero’ agenda and their implications for planning updates to the substantive issues in plan-making, especially the responses to the shortage of affordable housing and the development of major infrastructure changes to the processes involved in plan-making and development management an expanded and revised chapter on design to include the growing significance of public health in the built environment major revisions to the chapter on rural planning revisions of the text on planning theory especially in relation to management of conflicts over the use and development of land extended discussion of politics, professionalism and participation in planning The 16th edition of Town and Country Planning in the UK is an ideal starting point for those who are studying or working in the planning field, and for other professionals who need to locate their work in the planning context.

Local authority control of audit and performance provides opportunities to improve value for money and to focus more closely on local priorities. However, there are significant risks to accountability for public money unless new legal and practical arrangements are put in place to uphold the vital principle of auditor independence. Until now the Audit Commission has been the regulator, commissioner and major provider of local government audit services (undertaking 70% of the local government audit and commissioning the remaining 30% under contract from five private audit firms). Under the changes proposed, local government will in future appoint their own auditors. The Government plans to introduce a public audit bill in the autumn. The Committee argues this legislation must set out a number of key principles to govern public audit arrangements in the future: strict adherence to the principle of auditor independence; a majority of independent members on any local audit committee; additional safeguards to ensure the continued effectiveness of public interest reporting; a proportionate and risk based approach to the scope of local government audit - to permit local innovation and application, particularly with regards to local value for money work. The Committee also welcomes the LGA's proposals for sector-led performance management, but calls on the Government to clarify arrangements for intervention in the exceptional cases of serious corporate or service failure. It also repeats its call for the Government to examine the contribution which robust local government scrutiny arrangements could make to improving local government performance.

During its 13 years of office, Labour's modernization agenda transformed the world of UK local government. Amidst a starkly altered political and economic climate the coalition government formed in 2010 pledged to implement equally radical changes to the system. Taking account of the coalition's programme for government and its first round of spending cuts, the completely revised and updated fifth edition of this popular and established text is timed to take full advantage of this historic juncture. David Wilson and Chris Game provide readers with systematic coverage of the UK's local government. The book examines its defining features, its history, changing structure, operations, functions, financing, and its relations with central government. The fifth edition gives additional emphasis to local government in the devolved regions of the UK, and provides more extensive analysis of centre-local government relations. The authors deliver a thorough critique of Labour's third term in office. Looking ahead, the book anticipates the future of local government under the coalition government. Two themes look likely to dominate policy making: decentralization and cuts to public spending. With its clear, accessible, non-technical style and popular illustrations, Local Government in the United Kingdom will be essential reading for students, practitioners, and anyone with an interest in local politics.

Sir Michael Lyons was commissioned to consider the case for changes to the present system of local government funding in England and make recommendations, including on the reform of council tax. The remit was extended to cover questions relating to the function of local government and its future role as well as how it is funded, and also to consider the implications of the Barker (ISBN 0118404857), Eddington (ISBN 0118404873) and Leitch (ISBN 0118404865) reports. His overall conclusions are as follows: (1) local government is an essential part of our system of government; (2) central and local government needs to work more closely together as part of a single system, and local people should have a greater say in setting local priorities to enable authorities to manage pressures on public expenditure and improve satisfaction; (3) a mosaic of reforms is needed in the short term to address the most urgent problems, paving the way for more radical reforms in the medium- and longer-term. Recommendations include: automated council tax benefit; an end to capping; revaluation of properties for council tax; new bands with higher bills for those in more expensive properties and lower bills for those in the cheapest; consider reserving a fixed proportion of income tax for local government; longer term options should include local income tax and relocalisation of the business rate. Sir Michael concludes that council tax is not 'broken', but that it is under too much pressure, is seen as unfair, and has some limitations in that it is not a naturally buoyant source of revenue.

By using qualitative research from a number of related projects, the book examines the roles, functions and responsibilities of councillors and the expectations placed upon them by citizens, communities and government.

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has become an extreme yet unexceptional embodiment of forces at play in many other regions of the world: intensifying inequality alongside “wageless life,” proliferating forms of protest and populist politics that move in different directions, and official efforts at containment ranging from liberal interventions targeting specific populations to increasingly common police brutality. Rethinking the South African Crisis revisits long-standing debates to shed new light on the transition from apartheid. Drawing on nearly twenty years of ethnographic research, Hart argues that local government has become the key site of contradictions. Local practices, conflicts, and struggles in the arenas of everyday life feed into and are shaped by simultaneous processes of de-nationalization and re-nationalization. Together they are key to understanding the erosion of African National Congress hegemony and the proliferation of populist politics. This book provides an innovative analysis of the ongoing, unstable, and unresolved crisis in South Africa today. It also suggests how Antonio Gramsci's concept of passive revolution, adapted and translated for present circumstances with the help of philosopher and liberation activist Frantz Fanon, can do useful analytical and political work in South Africa and beyond.

Practical Social Work Law: analysing court cases and inquiries presents legal issues associated with social work in an accessible format. It approaches the law in a way that is less daunting and more engaging by examining actual court cases and public inquiries, and explores the stories of real people and the legal and ethical dilemmas practitioners will face. The text adopts a problem-centred approach to learning by introducing the reader to key aspects of the law through a series of real-life situations; it addresses basic principles regarding the operation of the law and explores the lessons for good practice. Each chapter addresses a specific area of social work law including family breakdown, safeguarding children, youth justice, adults with disabilities, mental health and mental capacity. Landmark cases, cases drawn from the lower courts, tribunals, and ombudsman’s decisions are included throughout presenting an accessible account of the application of the law. Practical Social Work Law is an essential text for undergraduate, postgraduate and recently qualified social workers who are wrestling with the complexity of the law and the professional dilemmas it poses for their practice. "This book is unusual for a law book in that it is not only a reference book but also a very readable volume...[It] is set out clearly and provides a sound basis for student social workers new to the law and a refresher for qualified practitioners." Catherine Poulter. RSW. Integrated Community Services. Carmarthenshire County Council

Succeeding in the art of contemporary policymaking involves designing policies which reflect the deeply interconnected nature of political space. Nevertheless, policy continues to be articulated through age-old categories and hierarchies of scale. This book asks why scale occupies this enduring position of privilege in policymaking, highlighting how scales are far from ‘natural’ features of policy and that they are instead essential to the armoury of policy practice. Drawing on empirical data from the field of education governance, the book traces how scales are crafted and mobilised in policymaking practices, demonstrating that ‘scalecraft’ is key to understanding the production of hegemony.

In the UK's current climate of budget cuts and policy changes, local government officials need to be aware of best practice in both broadcasting their services and responding to crises in their communities. Meanwhile, changes in the media - from the rise of social media, to web access for older consumers - present new challenges for local councils about how to best convey their key messages and protect their 'brand'. Full of expert advice, tools and case studies from a variety of sources, PR and Communication in Local Government and Public Services is a practical reference guide to delivering professional public relations for both communications and the delivery of local services. It offers a detailed analysis of the issues that are unique to this challenging and fast-moving environment, whilst reinforcing the importance of effective and meaningful communication to both local democracy and the planning and delivery of quality services. PR and Communication in Local Government and Public Services is also supported by a range of online resources, including case studies, appendices, and a bonus chapter on local authority publicity. About the PR in Practice series: Published in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the PR in Practice series comprises accessible, practical introductions to day-to-day issues of public relations practice and management. The series' action-oriented approach keeps knowledge and skills up to date.