The state and local government

http://www.jonathonporritt.com/pages/2008/12/.

402 Economic Research Council, ‘Launch of the ERC Quango Database’, press release dated 23 August 2007.

403 Ibid.

404 S. Wilks-Heeg, and S. Clayton, 2006.

405 M. Burton and M. Conrad, ‘Councils control just 5% of spend say Place pilots’, The Municipal Journal, 5 November 2009.

406 Improvement and Development Agency, 2009, pp. 11-13.

407 P. Ward, 2008.

408 Ibid.

409 Ibid.

410 Chandler, 2009, p. 22.

411 Department for Communities and Local Government, press release dated 1 April 2009.

412 BBC News Channel, 1 April 2009.

413 H. Jameson, ‘Tories handed chance to scrap new unitaries’, Local Gov.co.uk Newsletter, 12 February 2009.

414 East Devon District Council, press release dated 25 March 2009.

415 Ibid.

416 http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=89085.

417 Ibid.

418 Ibid.

419 Chandler, 2009, p. 183.

420 Ibid.

421 House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, 2009b, p. 71.

422 Chandler, 2009, p. 183.

423 Ibid., p. 184.

424 Ibid., p. 98, p. 184.

425 Northern Ireland Executive, 1970.

426 Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland, 2005, para 2.7 and 2.9.

427 Northern Ireland Executive press release 13 March 2008.

428 Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland, 2005, para 3.15.

429 John Matthews, President of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association. Quoted in N. Appleyard, 'NI local government reforms fail', Local Gov.co.uk Newsletter, 15 June 2010.

430 The equivalent population size per local authority figures, according to Professor Pawel Swianiewicz, are: 66,000 for Lithuania, 17,000 for the Czech Republic, 16,000 for Poland and 3,300 for Hungary (UDITE, 2008, p. 27).

431 House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, 2009b, p. 188. The Institute of Local Government Studies is part of The School of Government and Society at the University of Birmingham where John Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Local Government and Administration.

432 Ibid., p. 188, p. 189, p. 191.

433 Ibid., p. 67.

434 P. Crerar, 'London councils merge education departments in bid to slash costs', London Evening Standard, 5 July 2010, my emphasis.

435 Ibid.

436 Email to the author dated 6 July 2010. Peter Spalding is a former Labour councillor in Croydon and a Vice-President of Croydon TUC.

437 See G. Stoker and H. Wolman, 1991; G. Stoker and H. Wolman, 1992; and M. Hodge, S. Leach and G. Stoker, 1997.

438 I. Parker and A. Randle, 2002.

439 H. Atkinson and S. Wilks-Heeg, 2000, p. 260, my emphasis.

440 L. Davies, ‘Chirac ordered to stand trial on Paris corruption charges’, The Guardian, 31 October 2009.

441 The other pre-New Labour non-Stoker publications on US-style executive mayors are: Department of the Environment, 1991 and 1993; and Commission for Local Democracy, 1995. The latter are critically discussed in P. Latham, 2003, pp. 9-11.

442 M.G. Holli, 1999, p. 12. The survey was conducted over a five-month period from January to May 1993. Questionnaires were sent to 160 potential respondents drawn from writers for the Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, from other biographers of mayors, and from urban historians and social scientists who had published work related to cities and mayors. The response rate was 43 per cent; and the 69 respondents were asked to name and rank the ten “worst” and the ten “best” mayors since 1820.

443 C. Burton, ‘Christie to resign as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor’, Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 November 2008.

444 New York Times, 17 April 2008.

445 D. Shields, 2009.

446 D. Shields and J. Cragan, 2007, p 1. Shields is Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, University of Missouri – St. Louis; and Cragan is Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, Illinois State University.

447 Ibid.

448 Washington Post, 21 December 2000; New Jersey Online, 27 December 2001.

449 The New York Times, 4 May, 2003.

450 US Attorney’s Office press release dated 4 January, 2007.

451 The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 July 2008.

452 The Star-Ledger, 11 August 2008.

453 Associated Press, 9 May 2008; The Star-Ledger, 15 August 2008; The Jersey Journal, 4 September 2008.

454 Associated Press, 4 September 2008.

455 K. Dilworth, The Star-Ledger, 21 October 2008.

456 M. Conte, The Jersey Journal, 25 October 2008.

457 R. Fitzwalter and D.Taylor, 1981, p. 222.

458 J. Langdon, Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2007.

459 See Chapter 6, note 7.

460 M. O’Neil, New Statesman, 3 December 2007.

461 http://wapedia.mobi/en/John_Poulson#3.

462 J. Calder, The Independent, 4 February 1993.

463 C.B. Salmon, 1976.

464 J.A. Chandler, 2009, p. 143.

465 See Chapter 9, notes 57 and 58.

466 P. Keith-Lucas, ‘Curbing corruption in local Government’, Local Government Chronicle, 21 March 2003.

467 Northern Echo, 6 March 2003; The Times, 19 April 2003.

468 A. Anderson, ‘Should the Mayoral System be scrapped? – You get to Decide’, Doncaster Free Press, 1 March 2007.

469 R. Waugh, ‘Humiliated mayor urged to quit office’, Yorkshire Post, 29 March 2007.

470 http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7425074.stm.

471 D. Batty, ‘Mayor to stand down after inquiry finds serious failures’, The Guardian, 13 March 2009.

472 Quoted in A. Pratchett Martin, 1893, p. 262.

473 Doncaster Council, 2007, p. 4, para 14.

474 Report, 1999, Appendix 10.

475 Ibid.

476 Ibid.

477 The Guardian, 6 February 2002.

478 The Times, 13 February 2002.

479 The Observer, 17 February 2002.

480 P. Latham, 2003, p. 18.

481 A. Bounds, Interview with Peter Davies, The Financial Times, 21/22 November 2009.

482 Davies had wanted to appoint the current interim deputy director of children’s services instead of the director of finance and monitoring (H. Jameson and M. Conrad, ‘Doncaster mired in leadership dispute’, LocalGov.co.uk Newsletter, 27 January 2010.

483 J. Dudman, ‘Doncaster’s failing’, The Guardian, 20 April 2010.

484 Hansard written answer, col. 53784, 10 May 2002.

485 Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 2001, Table 18b (ii), p. 119.

486 Monty Goldman’s high vote in 2010 was also partly due to Respect, which had a candidate in 2006, not standing this time. Goldman also beat the well-funded Christian Party candidate, as did his election campaign manager Mick Carty who was a candidate in the Lea Bridge ward and got 205 votes (4.1 per cent of the poll and 30 votes less than the Tory candidate). Bob Crow – RMT general secretary – also spent election day campaigning on behalf of the Goldman and Carty “dream team” (T. Mellen, ‘A Communist success story’, Morning Star, 22-23 May 2010).

487 Ibid., Table 8, p. 18.

488 Ibid.

489 Ibid., Table 9c (i), p.99.

490 Ibid., Table 9a (ii), p. 97.

491 Ibid., Table 9e (ii) p. 103.

492 Ibid., Table 9b (ii) p. 99.

493 Ibid., Table 9d (ii), 102.

494 Ibid., Table A, p. 20. Allies for Democracy – Brighton and Hove’s No mayor campaign – estimated that an elected mayor would cost £1 million over four years when the cost of the referendum, the mayor’s salary, support staff and office supplies were included. The latter figure, as Capita’s advertisement for the Mayoral Office Team in Newham confirms, underestimated the full cost: since the six posts cost £211,272 per year (Local Government Chronicle, 24 May 2002). That is, £845,088 over four years and £1 million allowing for inflation/pay increases: and this excludes the mayor’s then salary of £65,000 a year, which is now £76,194 (see Table 7.1) and the cost of the referendum, which brought the total to at least £1.6 million over four years. For, according to a survey published in The Times on February 19, 2002, the first 22 referendums alone cost £2.5 million: ranging from £400,000 in Newham to £15,000 - where the referendum coincided with the general election - in Berwick-upon-Tweed. The £250,000 spent in Lewisham included £25,000 for a private public relations company to promote the referendum. Moreover, at a time, as now - when local government unions were battling against low pay - New Ham LB Council New Labour Mayor Sir Robin Wales spent £50,000 on an executive box at the local football club: which serves four-course meals with wines and lacquers to local dignitaries. TGWU National Organiser Jack Dromey condemned it as: “football on the rates” (Morning Star, 25 June 2002).

495 Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 2001, op. cit., Table 3, p. 89.

496 Ibid., Table 3, p. 89.

497 Ibid., p. 8.

498 Ibid., Table 16 (i) p. 116.

499 Ibid., Table 13 p. 112.

500 Ibid., Table 8, p. 18.

501 The Times, 18 February 2002.

502 Municipal Journal, 7 June 2002 and 26 September 2002.

503 On 31 October 2001 he ordered Southwark LBC to hold a mayoral referendum; and threatened to force Birmingham, Bradford and Thurrock to hold referendums. Following the publication of Reinvigorating Democracy? Mayoral Referendums in 2001 by the Electoral Commission, which found that many votes were wasted because people were confused over how to fill out the postal ballot voting forms and ‘did not understand the issues involved’, Nick Raynsford said he was reconsidering the ban on councils issuing information during the 28 days of the poll. In March 2002 he announced that the Government would work with the Electoral Commission to review the rules; and said his decision on whether to force Birmingham, Bradford and Thurrock to hold referendums would be delayed until the completion of the review (The Municipal Journal, 15 March 2002). See also P. Latham, 2002.

504 The Guardian, 26 June 2002.

505 C. Rallings, et al, 2002. There are two main variants of ‘runoff’ voting systems. The ‘majority runoff’ system where, if no candidate wins an absolute majority, then a second election is held between the two highest placed candidates. This system is used in 15 out of 25 countries with direct presidential elections (A. Blais and L. Mussicotte, 2002). France also uses a second election to determine the winner where no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round: but - since the number of candidates at the second ballot may be more than two - the winning candidate may not get an absolute majority.

506 House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, 2009b, p. 302.

507 J. Haylett, ‘Electoral Reform: Whose vote counts?’, Morning Star, 11-12 July 2009.

508 H. Wollmann, 2002, p. 16. Hellmut Wollmann is Professor emeritus at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Social Science.

509 C. Game, ‘Searching the world for a mayoral model’, The Guardian, 16 January 2001.

510 Ibid.

511 G. Jones and J. Stewart, 2008.

512 Stoke-on-Trent Council, press statement dated 23 October 2008.

513 H. Wollmann, 2002, p. 18.

514 H. Wollmann, 2008, pp. 36- 37.

515 Ibid., p. 46.

516 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008a.

517 Ibid., para 2.3.

518 Ibid., para 2.13.

519 Ibid., para 3.13.

520 Ibid., para 3.15.

521 Ibid., para 3.4.

522 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008b, pp. 97-103.

523 Ibid., p. 61.

524 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008a, para 4.5.

525 Ibid., para 4.8.

526 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008b, pp. 26-30, para 3.

527 Ibid., paras. 6, 7, 8 and 14, their emphasis.

528 Ibid.: see ‘“Democracy4Stoke” written submission to the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission 31 December 2007’, pp. 26-30; ‘“Democracy4Stoke” oral submission to the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission’, pp, 120-122; ‘“Democracy4Stoke” supplementary written submission to the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission 17 April 2008’, pp. 132-134; ‘Individual written submission by “Democracy4Stoke” Convenor Mick Williams to the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission 17 April 2008’, pp. 37-44; ‘Outline submission by Councillor Peter Kent-Baguely to the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission 11 January 2008’, pp. 78-83 (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008b).

529 Stoke-on-Trent Council, 2008a, p. 2, para 3.2.

530 Ibid., p. 2, para 3.4.

531 Stoke-on-Trent Council, 2008b, p. 4. The vote was 41 for an elected leader and cabinet, 7 against with 7 abstentions; and before the vote 9 councillors declared that they were supporters of D4S.

532 Stoke-on-Trent Council, 3 September 2008, op. cit., p. 9.

533 Ibid., p. 15.

534 P. Kenyon, ‘Exorcise the Blairite ghost from the machine’, Tribune, 8 May 2009.

535 M. Williams, ‘Council leader's a step towards democracy’, The Sentinel, 19 September 2008.

536 M. Williams, Pits'n'Pots – The Radical Press, 17 April 2009. Mick Barnes left the Labour Party in October 2009 the day after regional party officials ordered his suspension following an accusation that he called Cheshire West and Chester Council press office under a false name and asking questions about chief executive Steve Robinson, who had previously been the council manager for Stoke-on-Trent (The Sentinel, 13 October 2009.

537 N. Lowles, ‘Labour pains’, Searchlight Magazine, June 2008.

538 See note 87 above.

539 N. Watson, ‘What next for Stoke-on-Trent?’ BBC News Politics Show West Midlands, 12 March 2009.

540 www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk.

541 ‘Chaudry to sue council over secret Dimensions pool deal’, The Sentinel, 18 November 2009.

542 Stoke-on-Trent Council, ex-Local Government Minister John Healey’s letter 8 May 2009.

543 Mick Williams, email headed ‘Piecrust promises’ to council officers dated 21 August 2009.

544 Stoke-on-Trent Council, press statement dated 6 June 2009.

545 Anon., 2010, p. 9. See D4S's website (http://www.democracy4stoke.co.uk/) for the latest developments.

546 M. Kenny and G. Lodge, 2008. The IPPR’s quarterly journal Editorial Board includes Ed Balls MP, David Goodheart, Prospect Magazine, Martin Jacques, former editor of Marxism Today, Baroness Jay, Lord Neil Kinnock, Ed Miliband MP, Neil Sherlock, KPMG and Polly Toynbee of The Guardian.

547 L. Mott, 2008.

548 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008d, p. 94, para 5.17.

549 Ibid.

550 Ibid., para 5.18.

551 G. Jones and J. Stewart, ‘Why mayors don’t get our vote, Municipal Journal, 17 June 2008.

552 Ibid.

553 See Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008e.

554 C. Game, ‘Profile’, University of Birmingham, the Institute of Local Government Studies.

555 P. Dale, ‘Ray of light in Birmingham Mail campaign for elected mayor’, Birmingham Mail, 7 February 2009.

556 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008d, p. 11, p. 14.

557 Conservative Party, 2009, p. 21, their emphasis.

558 Conservative Party, 2010, p. 59, p. 76.

559 A. Travis, ‘Blunkett warns of extremist threat to police’, The Guardian, 16 July 2009.

560 J. Walker, ‘Cameron pledges referendum on elected mayors in Birmingham’, Birmingham Mail, 17 February 2009.

561 N. Hope and N Wanduragala, 2010, p. 5, p. 6.

562 Ibid., p. 7.

563 See Chapter 14, note 5.

564 Ibid., 6-7.

565 Ibid., 35.

566 Ibid., p. 18, their emphases.

567 Ibid., p. 20, their emphases.

568 Ibid., p. 24, p. 27, their emphases.

569 J. Harris, ‘This anti-politics merely opens the door to millionaires and careerists’, The Guardian, 17 August 2009.

570 Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009a.

571 D. Sorabji, 2007, p. 1.

572 Ibid. p. 6.

573 M. Lyons, 2007.

574 YouGov, 28 August 2007.

575 J. Jones, 2008, p. 22.

576 Ibid., p. 23.

577 A. Fisher, ‘Businesses in spotlight’, Morning Star, 16 March 2009.

578 HM Treasury, 2009a, para 3.19, p. 13.

579 A. King, 2007, cited in P. Feldman, 2008a, p. 47.

580 Ibid., p. 47, p. 48.

581 HM Treasury, 2007, para 1.7.

582 Office of National Statistics, 2009a.

583 Office of National Statistics, 2009b.

584 S. Rawnsley, 'The long party is over for the public sector, whoever wins', The Observer, 22 March 2010.

585 J. Healey, email dated 17 December 2007 to local authority leaders.

586 CSR, 2007, Table 1.3.

587 Local Government Association, 2008a, p. 2.

588 Ibid., p. 3.

589 Ibid., p. 3-4.

590 Ibid., p. 4.

591 Ibid.

592 Ibid., p. 5.

593 Ibid., p. 6.

594 HM Treasury, 2008a.

595 Local Government Association, 2008b, p. 2.

596 Ibid., p. 1.

597 IDeA/LGA/SOLACE, 2009. This survey was sent to all 388 chief executives of local authorities in England on 10 November 2008. At the close of the survey (30 November 2008) 155 (39.9 per cent) had responded.

598 J. Sturcke, ‘Local authority cuts 650 jobs as recession bites’, The Guardian, 17 February 2009.

599 BBC1 London Regional News, 26 February 2009.

600 Local Government Association, 2009b.

601 G. Tetlow, Reactions to the Budget – public spending, presentation by the IFS, 23 April 2009.

602 D. Drillsma-Milgrom, ‘Armageddon – the Great Depression’, Local Government Chronicle, 19 March 2009.

603 K. Larkin, 2009, p. 4.

604 TUC, 2009, p. 5.

605 HM Treasury, 2009, para 5.76.

606 A. Bawden, ‘Trimming the sails in an ill wind’, Society Guardian, 29 April 2009.

607 P. Hetherington, ‘Quick fixes won’t get more houses built’, Society Guardian, 6 May 2009.

608 J. Healey, Ministerial Statement dated 30 June 2009. ‘Stock transfer will become almost a thing of the past’, under these proposals ‘according to financial experts’ (C. Story, ‘Subsidy changes to end stock transfer’, Inside Housing, 10 July 2009). See also Defend Council Housing, Briefing, July 2009, pp. 1-4.

609 N. Mathiason, ‘Tory about turn on council houses’, The Observer, 12 July 2009. The previous week Conservative shadow housing minister Grant Shapps and London’s mayor Boris Johnson had visited Tory-controlled Croydon, which plans to build about 100 council properties a year. ‘The Conservatives’, according to Mathiason, ‘believe that if the [Croydon] model was replicated across the country it would go some way to solve the national housing crisis’ (ibid.).

610 R. Booth, ‘139,000 council homes to be built in next decade’, The Guardian, 7 July 2009.

611 NHF press statement dated 14 June 2010.

612 J. Corbyn, 'Cuts coalition plans a return to the 1930s', Morning Star, 2 July 2010.

613 Ibid.

614 HM Treasury, 2009b, Table 6.1, p. 130.

615 Local Government Association, 2009a, p. 4.

616 Margaret Eaton, LGA Chair, quoted in Bawden, 29 April 2009, op. cit.: see note 37.

617 Cited in N. Watt, ‘Labour warned budget spending cuts will wipe out decade of growth Labour MPs and trade unions vow to fight Darling's “catastrophic” squeeze that will take spending back to 1997 levels’, The Guardian, 24 April 2009. Though the proposal to sell off the Land Registry was eventually shelved by the last New Labour government after a concerted campaign led by the PCS.

618 Welsh Local Government Association, 2007.

619 Welsh Local Government Association, press statement dated 16 January 2008.

620 Wales Government, 2008.

621 Welsh Local Government Association, press statement dated 10 December 2008.

622 Welsh Local Government Association, ‘Recession having significant impact on council services’, press statement dated 5 March 2009.

623 Welsh Local Government Association, ‘Councils call on WAG to review “One Wales’ priorities”’, press statement dated 22 April 2009.

624 Ibid.

625 C. Smith, 'Welsh councils leaders’ deficit fear', LocalGov.co.uk Newsletter, 17 June 2010.

626 Local Government Finance Settlement 2008-2011, Statement by John Swinney to the Scottish Parliament, 13 December 2007.

627 Convention of Scottish Local Authorities press statement 13 December 2007.

628 M. Hellowell, 2008, p. 6.

629 S. Adam and D. Phillips, 2007.

630 V. Mills ‘The choice is clear: why free-market policies and social justice will never mix’, Voices of Scotland, Morning Star, 28 August 2008.

631 Morning Star, 4 September 2008.

632 The Guardian, 4 September 2008.

633 S. Jenkins ‘The great hope of local politics has become Margaret Thatcher in a kilt’, The Guardian, 5 September 2008.

634 J. Swinney, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/Local-Income-Tax.

635 J. Swinney, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0211-02.htm#Col14893.

636 Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, press release 11 February 2009.

637 See Chapter 14 notes 160-162.

638 Audit Commission, 2009, para 4, p. 8.

639 Ibid., para 16, p. 13.

640 Ibid., para 17.

641 Ibid., para 18 and 20, p. 14.

642 Ibid., para 30, p. 18.

643 Local Government Association, press release, 17 October 2008.

644 Audit Commission, 2009, Table 6, pp. 53-59.

645 Audit Commission, 2009, p. 29.

646 Ibid., para 113, p. 46.

647 The Municipal Journal, 23 October 2008.

648 A. Urry, ‘Councils face 90 per cent Icelandic loss’, File on 4, BBC Radio 4, 17 March 2009.

649 Bank of England, 2008b, p. 12.

650 The Guardian, 13 October 2008.

651 A. Sigmundsdottir , ‘Iceland's bizarre Icesave referendum’, The Guardian, 8 March 2010.

652 Audit Commission, 2009, para 34, p. 19.

653 Ibid., p.19, para. 33.

654 Ibid., p. 41, para. 96.

655 Car park charges are being cut throughout the country to attract shoppers back into city centres to help recession-hit businesses. For example, NCP has cut charges by up to 30 per cent in Croydon’s multi-storey car parks (Croydon Advertiser, 20 March 2009).

656 Audit Commission, 2009, Table 6.

657 Ibid.

658 Urry, 2009, op. cit.

659 Audit Commission, 2009, Table 6.

660 Ibid.

661 Ibid.

662 D. Calpin, ‘Local authorities are still coming to terms with the effects of the Iceland banking crisis’, The MJ, 21 October 2008; J. Illman, ‘Councils’ £10 billion flight to safety’, Local Government Chronicle, 30 October 2008.

663 House of Commons Treasury Committee, 2009, p. 29, their emphasis.

664 House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, 2009, p. 16, p. 17.

665 Meanwhile in July 2009 administrators for UK-based Kaupthing, Singer & Friedlander (KSF), one of the failed banks in which councils had funds, confirmed they would make a first payment worth around £17.3 million to councils which had money frozen in the bank; and the 20p in the pound initial payment was double what the administrators of KSF originally anticipated they would be able to pay (Municipal Journal, 15 July, 2009).

666 House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, 2010, p. 9, their emphasis.

667 Ibid., p. 6.

668 House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, 2007, p. 3.

669 D. Julius, 2008.

670 D. Walker, 2008.

671 Julius, 2008, p. 106.

672 D. Walker, ‘For fresh thinking, don't forget history’, Society Guardian, 2 July 2008.

673 Julius, 2008, para 1.11, p. 5. The third sector includes small local community and voluntary groups, registered charities both large and small, foundations, trusts and the growing number of social enterprises and co-operatives.

674 Indirect impacts are caused by employment and activity supported down the supply chain to the public services industry, as a result of the public service industry purchasing goods and services from UK suppliers. Induced impacts are caused by those directly or indirectly employed in the public services industry spending their incomes on goods and services in the wider UK economy.

675 Julius, 2008, para 2.2.

676 Ibid., para 2.4.

677 Ibid., para 2.6.

678 Ibid., para 2.7.

679 Ibid., para 2.8.

680 Ibid., para 2.13, her emphases.

681 Ibid., para 6.10.

682 Ibid., para 5.14 and 6.11.

683 N. Ridley, 1988.

684 The Municipal Journal, 1 March 2002.

685 House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, 2008, p. 3.

686 M. Hellowell, 2008b. ‘The primary advantage of the initiative from a department’s point of view is that upfront capital costs do not score against annual accounts. However, the ability to keep private finance off balance sheet could be eliminated when the UK moves to International Financial Reporting Standards in 2009/10. Under the new regime, PFI contracts will be accounted for according to Ifric 12, issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee. The committee reviews accounting issues that have arisen from the reporting standards and issues authoritative guidance on them, known as ‘interpretations’. The interpretations are approved by the International Accounting Standards Board and have the same authority as accounting standards. Ifric 12 makes it clear that PFI investments will not score on the private sector’s balance sheet, and the Treasury has accepted that this means they must score against the capital budgets of public authorities’ (ibid.). Moreover, according to recent statements by the Office for National Statistics, this will increase the amount of PFI investment recorded in the national accounts (see, for example, M. Kellaway, 2008).

687 M. Hellowell 2008b.

688 A. Pollock and G. Kirkwood, 2009, p. 278.

689 Arthur Andersen and Enterprise LSE, 2000.

690 D. Gaffney et al, 1999.

691 Audit Scotland, 2002, para 37.

692 A. Pollock and D. Price, 2008.

693 Since 1988 there have been eight PFI pathfinder projects to allow local authorities to refurbish existing council housing stock to the Decent Homes standard. This covered remodelling and demolition, and, from 2003, building new council housing. The programme also funds non-council social housing, largely new build, where the housing is not owned by the local authority at the end of the contract but remains in housing association ownership. Around 80 per cent of funding has been allocated to council housing projects and the remainder to non-council social housing. There have now been six funding rounds in the programme, involving 50 projects which have been allocated a total of £4.3 billion of funding, which typically run for 30 years (National Audit Office, 2010a, p. 13, p. 14).

694 Ibid., p. 5.

695 Ibid.

696 Ibid., p. 7.

697 Ibid.

698 Public Services Not Private Profit, 2006, p. 3.

699 Association for Public Service Excellence, 2009.

700 P. O’Brien, 2009, p. 14.

701 J. Harris, ‘We're outsourcing the future...Don’t be fooled. The drive to privatise goes on. How long till schools, prisons and hospitals all sport flashing corporate logos?’, The Guardian, 29 July 2009.

702 A. Pollock ‘Is private-sector money the right tool to construct tomorrow's public Britain? The Observer, 1 February 2009, Business news and features section, p. 5.

703 M. Hellowell, ‘Loss of initiative’, SocietyGuardian, 4 February 2009.

704 Ibid.

705 Ibid.

706 Ibid.

707 Y. Cooper, Written Ministerial Statement, ‘Government Infrastructure Investment’, 3 March 2009, Hansard Column 47WS.

708 Ibid.

709 D.Prentis, ‘Unison slams New Labour over bail-outs’, Morning Star, 4 March 2009.

710 http://www.gmb.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=99389.

711 Whitfield, 2010b, p. 24. PPPs are discussed in detail in the next section. See also Chapter 14 for a detailed critique of the Total Place programme.

712 D. Whitfield, 2006a, p. 105.

713 D. Whitfield, 2009, p. 3.

714 This table excludes the terminated contracts at West Bedfordshire Council and Bedfordshire and Essex county councils.

715 The 4ps (Public Private Partnerships Programme) was established in 1996 by the English and Welsh local authority associations (predecessors to the LGA) and provided ‘comprehensive procurement support to local authorities including hands-on project support, Gateway Reviews, skills development and “know-how” procurement guidance in the form of procurement packs, case studies and extranets’. On 18 August 2009 4ps became ‘Local Partnerships, a joint venture between the LGA and Partnerships UK’ (LGA analysis and research bulletin, August 2009, pp. 1-15, p. 3.

716 Unison 2008, p. 6.

717 This Table excludes the terminated contracts at Bedfordshire CC, West Berkshire Council and Essex County Council.

718 This Table excludes the terminated contracts at Bedfordshire CC and West Berkshire Council and secondary partner or subcontractors: Agilisys (Rochdale and Oldham) Mouchel (Somerset/Taunton Deane) Liberata (Sandwell) Serco (Bradford).

719 Audit Commission, 2008.

720 Unison, 2008, p. 6.

721 Ibid., p. 8.

722 Ibid., p. 9.

723 Ibid.

724 Ibid.

725 Ibid., pp. 9-10.

726 Ibid., p. 10.

727 Ibid.

728 Ibid., pp. 13-17.

729 Ibid., p. 18.

730 Unison Cardiff, 2010, p.17.

731 ‘Three MPs and peer charged over expenses’, Channel 4 News, 5 February 2010. Lord Hanningfield has claimed £99,970 in “overnight subsistence” over the last seven years despite living only 46 miles from Westminster in West Hanning­field, near Chelmsford; and having a full-time chauffeur provided by the local authority at taxpayers’ expense (R. Edwards, C. Hope and C. Irvine, ‘Scotland Yard quiz peer over expenses claim’, The Daily Telegraph, 2 July 2009). The three MPs were Elliot Morley (the Labour MP for Scunthorpe who is a backbencher and was environment minister from 2003 to 2006 charged with dishonestly claiming mortgage expenses of £14,428 for a house in Lincolnshire dishonestly claimed mortgage expenses of £16,000 for the same property when there was no longer a mortgage on that property) David Chaytor (the Labour MP for Bury North who is a backbencher and former teacher charged with dishonestly claiming £1,950 for computer services by using false invoices in May 2006, £12,925 for renting a property in Regency Street, London, when he was in fact its owner and £5,425, purportedly for renting a property in Bury, Lancashire, from his mother) and Jim Devine the Labour MP for Livingston who is a backbencher former Unison official charged with dishonestly claiming £3,240 for cleaning services using false invoices between July 2008 and April 2009 and £5,505 for stationery using false invoices in March 2009 (‘Expenses files: who are the charged four?’, Channel 4 News, 5 February 2010.

732 S. Laville and P. Curtis, ‘MPs charged over expenses could face seven years in jail’, The Guardian, 6 February 2010.

733 Unison Essex County Branch, ‘ECC OUTSOURCING: Unison MEDIA BRIEFING’, 2 March 2009.

734 Unison Essex County Branch, ‘TRANSFORMATION PARTNER CHOSEN BY ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL’, 23 June 2009.

735 P. Wintour, ‘Tory leaders plan 10% spending cuts and benefits set by councils’, The Guardian, 5 August 2009.

736 Audit Commission, 2009, Appendix 2, p. 58.

737 London Borough of Barnet, 2008.

738 R. Booth, ‘Tories adopt budget airline service model: London borough’s radical no-frills approach could drive Cameron policy’, The Guardian, 28 August 2009. In addition to this front page report, the paper also included a further two pages plus an editorial on the significance of the Barnet developments; and by early afternoon 131 mainly hostile website comments had been received.

739 Ibid.

740 Ibid.

741 Ibid.

742 R. Booth, ‘Injunction bars “no frills” cut in Barnet services’, The Guardian, 17 September 2009.

743 R. Booth, ‘High court bars “easyCouncil” from removing live-in wardens’, The Guardian, 16 December 2009.

744 Barnet Trades Council, ‘APPEAL: Trade unions raising funds to pay for expert advice on Future Shape’, http://www.barnettuc.org.uk/. ‘In contrast to the staggering £130,000 that the council paid PricewaterhouseCoopers for work on the Future Shape report, Professor Whitfield’s services in the next period will cost just £8,025’ (ibid.).

745 D. Whitfield, 2008b.

746 See Unison Barnet, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d, 2008e and 2008f.

747 PricewaterhouseCoopers (2008).

748 D. Whitfield, 2008b.

749 Ibid.

750 Ibid.

751 See London Borough of Barnet, 2009a.

752 Cited in P. McGuffin, ‘Lobby over public-sector fire-sale plan’, Morning Star, 4-5 July 2009.

753 Unison Barnet, 2009, p. 5.

754 Ibid., p. 9.

755 London Borough of Barnet, 2009a, p. 32.

756 Unison Barnet, 2009, p. 10.

757 Ibid., p. 11. See Chapter 8, note 39, regarding the possible end of stock transfer.

758 Ibid., p. 4, their emphases.

759 London Borough of Barnet, 2009b.

760 S. Jones and R. Booth, ‘Council agrees “easy jet” model for its services’, The Guardian, 23 October 2009.

761 Quoted in A. Marsh, ‘Barnet approves controversial “easy council” strategy’, LocalGov.co.uk Newsletter, 22 October 2009.

762 http://lambethUnison.blogspot.com/2010/02/john-lewis-council-union-responds-to.html.

763 E. Davey, ‘Barnet and Lambeth turn to Easyjet and John Lewis’, BBC News 29 April 2010.

764 Ibid.

765 Ibid., my emphasis.

766 Unison Barnet, 2010a, p. 1. Unison Barnet, 2010b, sets out a 12 point economic case for in-house options and bids, which the Council are refusing to consider.
   

767 P. Davies and K. Eustice, 2005, p. 26, p. 37.

768 A. K. Izaguirre, 2009, p. 1.

769 Quoted in D. Whitfield, 2010a, p. 37.

770 Ibid., p. 181.

771 D. Tweedie, 2010, p. 7. The title of this section is prompted by an extended pre-publication review of an earlier electronic draft version of this book by Dominic Tweedie who first contacted me when he received a paper I wrote based on the Gramsci section in this book (see Chapter 3, footnote 43 and ‘The usefulness of this book to South Africans’ [D. Tweedie, 2010, pp. 7-8]).

772 B. Hoffman, 2007, p. 1. Barak Hoffman is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Government Department at Georgetown University, Washington DC. He previously worked for the Federal Reserve, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States Department of the Treasury.

773 B. Hoffman, 2007, p. 1, p. 10.

774 J. de Visser, 2009, p. 3.

775 Ibid., pp. 3-4.

776 K. Naidoo, 2007, p. v.

777 Republic of South Africa, 2000, p. 5.

778 Department of Provincial and Local Government, 2007, p. 5.

779 D. Atkinson, 2007, p. 58.

780 Human Sciences Research Council, 2006, p. 3.

781 Good Governance Learning Network, 2008, p. 34.