Scottish Local Government

Review This is a thorough, short, intelligent and often tart account of Scottish local government… it is one of the first truly devolved books about Scottish politics This book takes Scottish devolution as a fact…and instead discusses how policy and administration work in Scotland. It is good to see Scotland as a case of public administration and public policy rather than of just nationalism and territorial politics., Political Studies ReviewA long overdue book, that is an excellent introduction to the post-devolution literature on Scottish politics. It represents a thoroughly well researched, structured and focused text that will serve the undergraduate textbook market for local government studies. It fills a major gap in the market in Scotland, but should also be considered as a useful addition for those teaching UK local government and urban politics classes… [Scottish local Government] should be placed at the top of reading lists for undergraduate courses on Scottish public administration and politics., Local Government StudiesA critical reminder of the roles and essential position lower tier authorities must have in a healthy civil society. I would recommend it to any organiser of a course on this subject, but also would direct researchers and commentators who need to be informed in this area to make this their first port of call. Indeed, given the robust and objective analysis – albeit delivered with a smouldering anger – of the attacks on the integrity and democratic accountability of local government by the Conservative administrations of the 1980s and 1990s, this should be compulsory reading for any new politician or commentator in this field., International Journal of Public Sector ManagementComprehensive in examining local government, well-written, and contains a substantial theoretical and conceptual element., Public AdministrationA long overdue book that is an excellent addition to the post-devolution literature on Scottish politics. It represents a thoroughly well researched, structured and focused text that will serve the undergraduate textbook market for local government studies. It fills a major gap in the market in Scotland, but should also be considered as a useful addition for those teaching UK local government and urban politics classes... A very well written book which strikes the right balance between description and analysis. A well thought out structure and approach results in a very coherent end product., Local Government Studies Product Description 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 as:*The nature and purpose of Scottish local government*The strengths and weaknesses of unitary authorities*Modernisation of political management arrangements*Roles and remuneration for councillors*Electoral reform and new methods for encouraging citizen participation*The growth of non-elected local governance*Best Value and the rise of the performance culture*The politics of council finance: including business rates, Council Tax and PFI*The 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 exten