The Impact of Central Government Policies on Local Authorities’’ Transport Expenditure and Provision: 1. Review of Changes in Government Policies Since 1979

The period since the mid-1970s has witnessed increasing interest and controversy in relations between central and local government as successive governments have sought to assert controls on local authorities' activities as part of wider economic and political programmes. Most attention has focussed on attempts to control local government expenditure in the context of the macroeconommic management of the economy, but in recent years, financial controls have been supplemented by legislative measures which have raised issues of a 'constitutional' nature (cf. Loughlin (1986)). Indeed, some commentators have argued that the controls introduced by the p~esent Conservative Government since 1979 represet a fundamental re-structuring of central-local relations such as to constitute a threat to the future of local government (see Rhodes (1984) p 261). A considerable amount of work has been undertaken to examine the implications of changes in the system of local government finance in terms of their effect, firstly, on local authority spending, secondly, on management and organisation within local authorities, and, thirdly, on relations between central and local government. This last aspect has received particular attention, especially through an SSRC-funded research initiative in the early 1980s in which the issue of central-local financial relations figured prominently (Goldsmith, 1986). Moreover, in this context there have been developments in the theory of the state, particularly the relationship of the 'local state' to the 'central state', deriving from the study of changes in central government financial controls (Martlew, 1983; Goldsmith and Villadsen, 1986). Clearly, the study of such changes will provide insights which will be valuable, firstly, in relation to the development of our ideas about the role and status of local government within the wider economic and political system and, secondly, in relation to the development of future policies for local government finance. To date, it would appear that most of the work in this area has focussed on aggregate spending by local authorities or classes of local authorities (e.g. shire/metropolitan/London authorities) and work on specific services has concentrated on such services as housing and education. It is considered, therefore, that an examination of the effects of changes in central government financial controls on local authorities' transport expenditure and provision will provide a valuable contribution to this area of study

On the Prospects for Policy Learning in Post-Devolution Scotland

In a context of increasingly complex and difficult policy challenges, serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of governments. Recent work on the attributes of \u27good government\u27 has emphasized the importance of a capacity for learning. In a conception of \u27intelligent government\u27 based on Deweyan pragmatism, the capacities of experimentation, learning and inclusive, deliberative policy making are central. The relevance of Deweyan pragmatism to contemporary thinking about reform and improvement of policy making can be seen in Sabel\u27s conception of \u27democratic experimentalism\u27. This article discusses recent developments in government and policy making in Scotland, especially under the SNP administration, to assess the extent to which there are moves towards this pragmatic model, with a focus on recent changes in the relationship with local government and on modes of performance management, scrutiny and \u27regulation\u27

The Impact of Central Government Policies on Local Authorities’ Transport Expenditure and Provision: 3. Roads Capital Expenditure and Transport Supplementary Grant sine 1985/6

This report presents results from the third and final stage of a research project, funded by the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, which aims to assess the impact of recent changes in central government policies and powers in relation to local government finance upon local authorities1 transport expenditure and outputs, and upon their approach to addressing local transport problems and needs. Two previous working papers present findings from the first two stages of the project. The first (Sanderson, 1988A) reviews relevant changes in government policies and financial control mechanisms and identifies major research issues. The second (Sanderson, 1988B) presents the results of an analysis of trends in local authorities1 transport expenditure relative to the Government's spending plans and expenditure provisions over the period since 1979/80 which attempts to identify the impact of changes in government policies and controls. This working paper reports the findings of a more detailed examination of the operation of the system whereby the Government provides resources for, and exercises control over, local authorities' capital expenditure on local road construction and improvement. Within this broader context the operation of the Transport Supplementary Grant system is examined and, in particular, an attempt is made to assess implications of capital expenditure controls for selected local authorities in terms of their ability to address effectively the transport problems and needs of their areas

The Impact of Central Government Policies on Local Authorities’ Transport Expenditure and Provision. 2: Analysis of Trends in Local Transport Expenditure Since 1979.

This report presents results from the second stage of a research project, funded by the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, which aims to assess the impact of recent changes in central government policies and powers in relation to local government finance upon local authoritiesf transport expenditure and outputs and upon their approach to addressing local transport problems and needs. A previous Working Paper (Sanderson, 1988) reviews relevant changes in government policies and financial control mechanisms and identifies major research issues. The results presented in the present report derive from an analysis of data on trends in local authoritiesf transport expenditure relative to Government's spending plans and expenditure provisions over the period since 1979/80 which attempts to identify the impact of changes in government policies and controls. Conclusions from this analysis will provide the basis for a more detailed examination of information relating to a small sample of local authorities from which a better understanding of cause-effect relationships will be obtained. The results from this latter stage of the research will be published in a third working paper

Luminescence investigations at Quendale (Broo Peninsula, Shetland)

This report is concerned with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) investigations of sediment samples collected from ongoing University of Southern Maine archaeological excavations at the Links of Quendale, southern Shetland, investigating the early-modern township of Broo. 11 sediment samples were submitted to the luminescence laboratory at SUERC for OSL dating by Ian Simpson. This report summaries the protocols, and laboratory analysis, employed in quartz single aliquot regenerative (SAR) OSL dating, as used to construct an OSL chronology for wind-blown sands in proximity to the Broo excavations, in association with archaeological structures (5 samples), and for sands in the coastal and inland dune systems (6 samples). The chronology established for the inland sands, in contexts associated with the Broo 2 building and enclosure, spans from AD1540 ± 40 (SUTL2441) through to AD1810 ± 25 (SUTL2519), encompassing the archaeological period of interest. The dates obtained for sands within the enclosed and unenclosed areas to the immediate east and southwest of the excavated Broo site, are AD1760 ± 30 - AD1760 ± 25, and AD1810 ± 25 (SUTL2517-2518 and 2519, respectively), are consistent with the expectation that the clean sands which infill these structures, post-date the period in which the Broo township was abandoned. The coastal sand accumulations, as so far dated, yielded luminescence ages of 2380 ± 230 BC (SUTL2526), 1510 ± 270 BC (SUTL2527), AD 1030 ± 80 (SUTL2528), AD 1690 ± 50 (SUTL2529), AD 1720 ± 20 (SUTL2530) and a mixed-age sample with youngest component at AD 1955 ± 15 (SUTL2531), implying periods of sand mobilisation, synchronous with sand deposition in Orkney and northern Scotland, in the late Neolithic, the Early Bronze Age, the Norse period, the early-modern, and modern periods. This work suggests that the present-day physio-geographical setting of the Quendale Links, comprised of the coastal sand barrier, and the inland dune fields, is a product of a prolonged history of sand mobilisation, erosion and deposition from the Neolithic to the present day. Furthermore, the emerging temporal framework, coupled with the spatial distribution of dune forms across the Links, raises questions as to whether Little Ice Age storms were responsible for deposition, or erosive destruction of older dune-forms, and the re-mobilisation of this sediment. To test these ideas, profiling methods, both field- and laboratory- based, could be employed to obtain a more complete temporal and spatial characterisation of the dune systems and excavated sequences. Further OSL sampling and dating would be needed to define the vertical and lateral chronostratigraphies of the environmental features in the landscape and their relationships to archaeological structures

On social knowledge, ideology and the nuclear power debate

Many of the issues and problems concerning the role of our frameworks and structures of reasoning in the guidance of the process of social and technological development are encapsulated in the debate about nuclear energy. This thesis takes that debate as a context for analysing the rationality of scientific knowledge of society and the role and influence of such knowledge in debate and decision-making about appropriate forms of social and technological development. After an introductory review of the historical, political and economic context of the issues and of the development of UK energy policy over the last 25 years, the body of the thesis is structured into two parts. In the first part, a critical examination of orthodox conceptions of scientific objectivity is followed by an attempt to elaborate an alternative conception of the nature of the rationality of social scientific knowledge founded upon the notions of 'value-contingency' and 'ideology'. This conception is developed through discussions of the role of social problem-solving in providing a basis for the process of knowledge development and of the role of the state in structuring the problem-solving process and the development of social knowledge to provide a complex 'technical' legitimatory framework. The concept of a dominant 'technocratic ideology' is then elaborated and an attempt made to identify and outline the major cognitive and normative components of this ideology. In particular it is conceived of as presenting interrelated ideological accounts of the appropriate form of knowledge development, of the content of the social world and of the appropriate form of knowledge utilisation, which are underpinned by 'materialistic', 'liberalist' and 'rationalist' normative traditions. The second part of the thesis analyses certain aspects of the debate about nuclear energy in order to attempt to identify the role and influence of the 'technocratic ideology' and its normative commitments as elaborated in the first part, with a view to assessing the validity and implications of such a conception. After a review of the major issues of controversy in the debate, covering the economic, safety, environmental, social and political implications of nuclear energy, an attempt is made to clarify and categorise the main dimensions of the dispute in terms of the perception and valuation of economic benefits and 'social costs'. Arguments in support of nuclear power are then examined, themes of 'technocratic rationality' identified and the implications for the conduct of the debate discussed. Two particular aspects of the debate are then examined in detail to identify the influence of normative, ideological themes. Firstly, pro-nuclear perceptions and interpretations of the energy problem are analysed and liberalist and materialist themes identified; in particular tendencies towards the establishment of 'materialist ethical imperatives' are highlighted. Secondly, aspects of the process of consideration of alternative means to the 'solution' of the energy problem are examined including illustrations of the value-contingent nature of the relevant social knowledge, an analysis of the treatment of the issue of demand-side solutions in pro-nuclear arguments, and a brief discussion of the implications of technocratic rationality for the evaluation of the costs and benefits of nuclear power. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the evidence for the influence of technocratic rationality and the normative themes identified, on the political implications of such dominant ideological themes and on limitations of the analysis and further research directions

Does locality make a difference? The impact of housing allowance reforms on private landlords

Housing subsidies are used by developed welfare states to ensure their citizens can access decent and affordable housing. This paper assesses the relative importance of individual and area level factors on the degree to which private sector landlords were affected by changes to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in the UK. The changes were part of the Government’s package of measures to reform LHA and reduce the welfare benefit bill. Multi-level modelling techniques have been applied to a longitudinal survey of 788 private sector landlords who had LHA tenants in 19 Local Authorities across GB. The analysis shows that whilst landlords were affected by reforms, area effects were not as pronounced as anticipated. In general landlords were equally affected regardless of where they operate. The findings suggest tenants in the most affected areas have absorbed increases in their rent shortfall signifying income was not the overriding determinant of demand. KEY WORDS; Housing Allowances, Private rented sector, Welfare reform, Area effect

Young people's resilience and involvement : possible elements of the European Union's Structural and Investment Funds in addressing youth unemployment?

This paper explores the role of the EU's Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) in addressing youth unemployment. This paper looks beyond the now well established repertoire of ESIF interventions. It considers evidence on two possible areas for intervention: the involvement of young people in the design and delivery of programmes, and the development of young people's personal resilience as a determinant of successful labour market outcomes. Findings are presented from a large scale evaluation of a €130m seven year programme (called Talent Match) in England which is being funded by the United Kingdom's Big Lottery Fund (the main distributor of Lottery funding in the UK). It outlines the opportunities and constraints from both involvement and resilience approaches, and how at first sight, the two approaches appear to stem for quite different conceptions of the determinants of youth unemployment. In conclusion, it suggests how by using Sen's capabilities approach, youth involvement and personal resilience may be reconciled and the possible response for the ESIF