1st Edition

Reform of Local Government Finance in Britain

By Ronan Paddison, S. J. Bailey Copyright 1988

    First Published in 1988. This book of readings was compiled during the period between publication of the Green Paper 'Paying for Local Government' (Cmnd 9714) in January 1986 and the passage of the English and Welsh Community Charge (PoIl Tax) Bill through Parliament during the first half of 1988. The Scottish Bill reached the statute book in May 1987. Whilst the Scottish Bill had a fairly easy passage through Parliament that for England and Wales generated a particularly contentious debate centred on the lack of account taken of the ability to pay the tax. This book provides the reader with a balanced and comprehensive examination of the British PoIl Tax system.

    Introduction; Chapter One Chapter One Local Government in Britain: Rationale, Structure and Finance, Ken Young; Chapter Two Chapter Two The Recent History of Local Fiscal Reform, Peter G. Richards; Chapter Three Chapter Three The Politicisation of Local Government, John Berridge; Chapter Four Chapter Four The Legal Limits of Local Autonomy, Chris Himsworth; Chapter Five Chapter Five A Poll Tax for Britain?, Clive Martlew, Stephen J. Bailey; Chapter Six Chapter Six Local Freedom and Central Control — A Question of Balance, Tom Wilson; Chapter Seven Chapter Seven Rates Reform and the Housing Market, Gordon A. Hughes; Chapter Eight Chapter Eight The Future Role of Grants in Local Government Finance, David King; Chapter Nine Chapter Nine Non-Domestic Rates and Local Taxation of Business, Robert J. Bennett; Chapter Ten Chapter Ten Local Government Finance and Macroeconomic Policy, Richard Jackman; Chapter Eleven Chapter Eleven The British Reform in Its International Context, Ronan Paddison; Chapter Twelve Chapter Twelve CONCLUSION;

    Biography

    Ronan Paddison, Dept of Geography, University of Glasgow, Steve Bailey Dept of Economics, Glasgow College.