Laws as an Instrument of Policy: A Study in Central-Local Government Relations

Abstract

ABSTRACTLaw is an instrument which can be used by central government to influence its environment, including other levels of government. This paper examines a number of fundamental questions about the nature of legal influence upon local authorities in Britain. Legislation affects local authorities in a variety of ways: through making direct reference to local authority organisations and the services they provide; through affecting all large organisations, public or private; and through affecting the organisations and individuals with which local authorities interact. In the 1970s a large proportion of legislation was concerned with the financial aspects of local services. Relatively few laws make substantive changes in the legal framework within which local authorities operate and much legislation can be categorised as ‘anodyne’. However, particular items of legislation can produce such substantive changes in public policies and in the powers of different organisations within government.