Scottish Local Government

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, t