Small is beautiful? Local government reorganisation and the work of social services departments
- UK : Policy Press, apr. 1998
British local government is undergoing the most far-reaching reorganisation for 25 years. Government's explicit objectives for change emphasised more local, cheaper, local government, although there were also implicit political objectives. Social services now represents the major directly-controlled local government activity; however, it was marginal in debates about reform. The impact of reform, particularly in terms of the size of the new unitary or 'hybrid' local authorities, may, however, be substantial. Research into the impact of reorganisation on authorities in England, Scotland and Wales raises questions about the extent to which new, smaller social services departments are sustainable