LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPLAINED

By the same author

Municipal Engineering Practice

Outdoor Recreation and the Urban Environment
Planned Expansion of Country Towns (published by George Godwin)
Civil Engineering Quantities
Civil Engineering Specification
Building Quantities Explained
Building Economics
Building Technology
Building Maintenance
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXPLAINED

I vor H. Seeley
[Link]., M.A., Ph.D., F.R.I.C.S., [Link].,
[Link].E., F.I.Q.S., M.I.O.B.

Head of the Department of Surveying

and Dean of the School ofEnvironmental Studies,
Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham

M
 C Ivor H. Seeley 1978
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1978 978-0-333-22355-0
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, without permission.

First published 1978 by

THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Lundon and Basingstolte
Associated companies in Delhi Dublin
Hong Kong]ohannesburg Lagos Melbourne
New York Singapore and Tolryo

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Seeley, Ivor Hugh

Local government explained.
I. Local government - Great Britain
I. Title
352.041 JS3025

ISBN 978-0-333-22357-4 ISBN 978-1-349-15961-1 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-15961-1

This book is sold subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement.

The paperback edition of this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall
not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise
circulated without the publisher's prior .consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition includ-
ing this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This book is dedicated to the councillors
of the former urban district of Haverhill
and the former rural district of Newport
Pagnell, with whom I had the privilege to
be associated as a chief officer.
 CONTENTS

list of Figures Xl

list ofTables Xl

Preface Xlll

I. Historical Development of Local Government

Early developments: Mediaeval period, Tudor period, the
eighteenth century; position in early nineteenth century:
parishes, counties, boroughs, ad hoc authorities; early
reform of local government; later developments (1880-
1944): the need for reform, establishment of county
councils, rationalisation of other levels of local govern-
ment, growth of population, towns and transport, Local
Government Act 1929, loss of functions to central govern-
ment, increased central government control; main local
authority functions: education, highways, public health,
housing and town planning, police, municipal trading
and other services; references

2. Winds of Change 18
Need for reform; immediate post-war developments: 1945
White Paper on Local Government, Local Government
Boundary Commission; the Local Government Act 1958
and consequent developments; Royal Commission on Local
Government in England, 1966-9: procedure, existing
deficiencies, general principles formulated by Commis-
sion, Commission's approach, Commission's proposals,
reaction to Commission's report; local government in
London; references

3. Local Government Structure since 1974 31

Reorganisation proposals; Local Government Act 1972;
transitional arrangements; functions of new local authori-
ties: discharge of functions, allocation of functions, county
councils, shared functions, additional functions of metro-
politan districts, district councils, parish and community
Vlll CONTENTS

councils, division of responsibilities; problems in

operation of latest local government structure; further
transfer of functions from local government; references

4. Local Government Procedures 46

Constitution of local authorities; election qualifications;
election procedures: local government franchise, conduct
of elections, casual vacancies; alteration of local govern-
ment areas; councils and their meetings; management in
local government; committee structure: functions of
committees, types of committee, composition and size of
committees, control of committees by council, co-option,
committee arrangements, advantages and disadvantages of
the committee system, later developments; councillors:
characteristics, qualities, functions, pay and allowances;
party politics in local government; officers: principal
responsibilities, statutory officers; relationship of members
and officers; corruption; references

5. Management Structures and Techniques 66

The concept of corporate management; background to
corporate management: Maud Report, Bains Report; new
committee structures: reasons for change, new committee
arrangements, policy and resources committee; chief
executive; management team; corporate management in
action: new local authority structures, county council
structures, district council structures, the application of
corporate management; management techniques: manage-
ment services, employment of private consultants,
LAMSAC, planning, programming and budgeting systems,
work study, organisation and methods, operational re-
search, network analysis, cost-benefit analysis, use of
computers; departmental organisation: departmental
structures, role of chief officers; references

6. Local Government Administration 92

Committee procedures: standing orders, general arrange-
ments at meetings, public access to meetings, appointment
of committee members, chairmen of councils and com-
mittees, programme of meetings; agenda; reports: general
requirements of reports; preparations for and conduct of
meetings: preliminary preparations, attendance of members
and quorum, conduct of meetings, motions, notes of
meetings; minutes: purposes, preparation, action on
 CONTENTS IX

minutes; local government staffing: the local government

service, conditions of employment, personnel manage-
ment, superannuation, conditions of service; recruitment
and training: recruitment, induction, training, Local
Government Training Board; staff development: selection,
promotion and career prospects, manpower planning;
references
7. Local Government Finance 113
Financial needs of local authorities: budgets; main sources
of local government income; rating: nature and method of
operation, valuations and valuation lists, merits and
demerits of rating, rate rebates and other forms of assis-
tance, reforms; financial relations with central govern-
ment: grants, subsidies, loans; financial problems of
local authorities in the mid-1970s; alternative sources of
local authority income: local income tax, local sales tax,
local employment or payroll tax, motor fuel duty, motor
vehicle duties, super-rating, surcharges on rates for earning
non-householders, site value rating, rating of agriculture,
lotteries; Layfield Report and the future in local govern-
ment finance; references
8. Powers and Responsibilities of Local Authorities 135
General powers: Statutory Instruments; doctrine of ultra
vires; judicial control; Acts of Parliament: public Acts,
private Acts, Clauses Acts; Orders; bye-laws: nature and
scope, making of bye-laws, confirmation of bye-laws,
model bye-laws, validity of bye-laws, relaxation and re-
approval of bye-laws; legal status of local authorities;
local authorities in litigation; Commissioners for Local
Administration; references
9. Central Government Control 152
Central and local government relationships; legislative
control; administrative control: general powers, direc-
tions, regulations, bye-laws, supervision, inspection, other
ministerial actions and requirements, central-local
communications; financial control: loans, grants; district
audit: nature and form of audit, appointment and duties of
auditors, district audit procedure, advantages of district
audit; appeals, default powers and settlement of disputes;
control through inspection: inspection of services, in-
spectorate and inquiries; approval of schemes; effect of
central control; references
X CONTENTS

10. Local Government Needs and the Future 170

Public relations: communication, local press, public rela-
tions officers, Commissioners for Local Administration;
co-operation between authorities: combined sports centres,
expanding towns, shared and inter-related functions;
neighbourhood councils and other pressure or voluntary
groups; regionalism and devolution; the impact of
reorganisation: the changed situation, effect of party
politics, corporate management, officer/member relation-
ships; corruption; local government finance; central/
local government relationships; major problems facing
local government: finance and staffing, housing, town and
country planning, inner-city renewal, other services; what
of the future? references

Index 197
 LIST OF FIGURES

1. Local government structure - England and Wales, 1899-

1974 (London, 1899-1963) 10
2. Local government- London 29
3. Local government- England and Wales: county boundaries
since 1974 33
4. Revised local government structure - England and Wales 35
5. Committee structure- non-metropolitan county (Bains Com-
mittee proposals) 73
6. Departmental structure - larger non-metropolitan district
(Bains Committee proposals) 74
7. Member involvement- Suffolk County Council 79
8. Main management processes cycle 85

LIST OF TABLES

1. Population ranges for each type of authority in 19 73 34

2. Division of English local government functions 42
3. Sources oflocal revenue 116
 PREFACE

This book is aimed primarily at students of local government, what-

ever their discipline, but may also be of value to new and prospective
councillors and officers, and to members of the public who are
interested in the workings of local govemment.
After delving into the foundations of local govemment, the
changes to the local govemment structure and functions are
examined, followed by an analysis of operative procedures and
techniques. The sources of finance, their deficiencies and altemative
arrangements are explored, together with the powers and respon-
sibilities of local authorities and the form and extent of central
govemment control. Finally, current local govemment needs are
investigated and an eye directed at the future.
Most of my career has been spent in the local government service,
including some six years as a chief officer. I am proud to have
served an important branch of the public service which has done
so much to improve the health, comfort, well,being and education
of the citizens of this country.
Views diverge widely as to the optimum local government
structure for the United Kingdom and it has, sadly, become a
political issue. Present experience points to the undesirability of
sharing functions between different tiers and of separating interrelated
activities which ought desirably to be grouped within the same
authority. Some flexibility is needed as a single framework cannot
be applied effectively to the whole country. Finally, a proper
balance must be achieved between efficiency and democracy.
Relationships between officers and members and between central
and local government need to be deeply rooted in respect and
understanding one for the other. Local govemment would benefit
from greater freedom of action and increased scope for the exercise
of initiative in responding to local needs and aspirations. If local
authorities were merely to become the agents of central government,
it would be the end of effective and democratic local govemment
and the country would be the poorer for it.
The operation of the local govemment service is dependent upon
thousands of devoted elected members, who give selflessly of their
time and energy in the interests of the community. As local govem-
ment activities become increasingly complex they draw ever more
XIV PREFACE

heavily upon councillors' time and it may become necessary in

the future to pay salaries to some, if not all, councillors. Any
corruption occurring in local government is given maximum
publicity by the media, whereas the total number of serious cases
of fraud or corruption is comparatively small, giving testimony
to the integrity of the vast majority of people connected with the
local government service, despite the many temptations they face.
The nineteen-seventies have seen a substantial increase in the
degree of involvement of party politics in local government. Where
all decisions are made by a political group outside council and
committee meetings, with little or no opportunity for discussion
or debate, healthy and democratic local government can easily
be undermined.
The mid-nineteen-seventies have shown the vulnerability of local
authorities in times of economic crisis, with such a high proportion
of their funds obtained from central sources. The problem is
accentuated by central government delegating new and costly
activities to local authorities at the same time as it is reducing local
government grants.
Improved and closer working arrangements between local
authorities and the press are needed. Local authorities must allow
ample access to the press and the public, while the press must
endeavour to report accurately and fully. Local authorities have
an important public relations function and should aim to keep
the public well informed of their proposals, problems and
achievements.
I would like to acknowledge the help I have received from
NALGO Education Department in the supply of valuable informa-
tion, the Local Government Chronicle and Clifford Smith, Chief Executive
to Suffolk County Council, for supplying the basic data for Figure
7, and the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office for permis-
sion to incorporate extracts from Government reports. For the legal
background I have drawn freely upon the well established and
authoritative works of C. A. Cross and W. 0. Hart. Charles Hardwick
of the Trent Polytechnic Library provided a wealth of supporting
information and data.
Other fruitful sources of information were the numerous journals
impinging upon local government, and particularly Local Government
Chronicle, Local Government Review, Municipal Review, Local Government
Studies, Public Finance and Accountancy and Local Government Annotations.
I am indebted to all the officers and councillors who over the
years have given me the benefit of their views and experience, for
which I have been much the richer and wiser. It is on occasions
beneficial for the enthusiasm of officers to be moderated by experi-
 PREFACE XV

enced elected members, whose primary aim is to satisfY pressing

local needs within the available resources.
Finally, I have used the term 'Minister' extensively to cover the
Secretary of State for the Environment.

N ottingho.m IV OR H. SEELEY
Autumn 1977