Local Government in a Devolved Scotland
Since the arrival of devolution on the political agenda in the 1970s, there has been an expectation that its introduction would inevitably lead to a reconsideration of the structure and functions of local government (Gunn 1977; Page 1979). Indeed, both the SNP and the Liberals committed themselves in electoral manifestos to transferring functions from local government to a Scottish Parliament, dismantling the big regions, and shaping local authorities around the former district councils. Even after the recent reorganisation, that anticipation of further structural change remains.
Reorganised Scottish Local Government: A review
Abstract It is now just over twenty years since the Royal Commission on Local Government in Scotland was established and set in train a process which ultimately, through the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1973, brought about the most radical reorganisation of local government ever witnessed in Scotland. The principles upon which Wheatley hoped to build his well‐grounded and enduring structure are under siege, where not actually breached. Renewed interest in a Scottish Assembly threatens the very existence of the present pattern of local government. For those actively involved, the day‐to‐day experience of local government is not of contributing to a healthy local democracy, but of conflict, frustration and disillusionment. The causes of the present malaise lie jointly in the very idea, enshrined in the 1973 Act, that services and functions can be allocated between two tiers of local government, and in the sustained attack by central government on the autonomy and powers of local government.
Financing Public Libraries in Scotland: Developments in the 1980s
The political and economic context of public library expenditure is surveyed and the question of charging for public library services is discussed. Value for money and performance indicators are examined and new pressures for spending growth considered within a strategy for public library development for the 1990s.