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.
Population size and functional efficiency in public library authorities: the statistical evidence
Regression analysis is used to analyse the available statistical evidence on the range, cost and usage of UK public libraries to determine whether any gen eral relationship exists between the pop ulation size served by a public library authrority and its functional efficiency, while recognizing that some aspects of the impact of size require a more quali tative assessment. Examines the perfor mance of the smallest authorities against the UK national average. The statistical analysis of service provision over the 1980s is based on the returns made by the chief librarians to the annual Public Library Statistics (Actuals) produced by CIPFA's (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) Statistical Information Service. The general mea sures of service used in the study consist of: total number of service points; lend ing limit (maximum number of items allowable on loan); issue period; and opening hours (including mobile libraries). Results provide some confir mation of diseconomies of scale in small library authoritites, which incur greater per capita expenditure than larger author ities. Concludes that size is not the only factor determining the scope and range of services. The research was supported by a grant from the British Library, Research and Development Department.
The redesigning of Scotland's administrative areas: An outsider's view
Abstract The 1975 reorganisation of Scotland's local governmental areas was based on the belief that planning was the pre‐eminent administrative function, and that the city region was the most suitable planning unit. Attempts at subdivision revealed several problem areas which did not fit into the commonly accepted regions of perception. There was considerable disagreement over suitable sizes for the units but the Commission Report and the final bill decided in favour of large units at the expense of local communities.