Local Government and Local Governance: 1944–2011

Abstract

Since the establishment of the tri-partite system of state education after the Second World War, the once simple relationships between central government and local government and the individual school have become increasingly complex. This article considers the key governance issues for schools and colleges in England and how they have been affected by the redistribution of power between central government and local government. The principal foci are the main legislative changes and the impact they have had on the respective powers and responsibilities of central government, local government and schools and colleges. The radical developments since the formation of the coalition government in May 2010 have accelerated the shift of power to central government from local government and by the end of the first term of the coalition the local authority will have little more than a vestigial role in the provision of secondary education and a diminishing role in primary and special education. As academy status becomes the norm (as it already is for secondary schools in some authorities) central government will be dealing directly with autonomous schools and academy chains. With more schools directly employing staff and with funding levels set nationally, the pattern and nature of public education will have been irrevocably changed.     

Ingredients of institutional reputations and citizen engagement with regulators

The purpose of this study is to examine the link between the reputational components of efficacy and moral reliability of institutions, and citizens' compliance with institutional recommendations. Research on bureaucratic reputations highlights the significance of positive political reputations based on credibility and legitimacy, but the impact of these components is not systematically isolated and studied. We draw insights from political psychology to move beyond a positive‐negative valence‐based approach of reputation, and highlight the different effect of efficacy and moral reliability components of reputation on citizens' cooperation, engagement in water saving activities, and levels of complaints. We use the Cypriot Water Authority as a case study and inquire how its institutional reputation influences Cypriot citizens' behavior regarding water use. Our data was collected via a representative national survey administered to a random sample of 800 Cypriots in the spring of 2009 and show that favorable perceptions of particular components of institutional reputation shape the levels of satisfaction with specific organizational outputs.     

Environmental Harm or Natural Hazard? Problem Identification and Adaptation in U.S. Municipal Climate Action Plans

A number of cities in the United States have devised climate action plans (CAPs) to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, few of these plans address strategies to adapt to the long term effects of climate change that will occur in the near and distant future. The research presented in this article examines why cities choose to embed adaptation provisions in their CAPs. Our study codes the content of CAPs for all cities (N = 98) in the United States with populations greater than 50,000. We find cities that frame problems associated with climate change in the language of hazards are more likely to include adaptation strategies in their CAPs than cities that focus on other types of environmental harm. Our findings suggest that more robust efforts to plan for climate change will require the activation of communities of interest beyond those that have been instrumental in setting the current climate agenda.     

Zur Abgrenzung von Verwaltung und Verf��gung �C eine dogmatische Frage von eminenter praktischer Bedeutung

Dass Verwaltungshandlungen von Verfügungsma?nahmen deutlich abzugrenzen sind, entspricht dem Grundverst?ndnis von Mit- und Wohnungseigentum. Dass sich die Notwendigkeit einer klaren Grenzziehung zwischen diesen Bereichen nicht zuletzt aus den gesetzlichen Vorgaben, wie insb den unterschiedlichen Konsenserfordernissen, ableitet, erscheint ebenso unzweifelhaft. Umso augenf?lliger sind Bemühungen in Rechtsprechung, Lehre und auch Gesetzgebung, den Bereich der Verwaltungsagenden zu Lasten der Verfügungen best?ndig zu erweitern. Der vorliegende Beitrag soll derartige Tendenzen vor dem Hintergrund der lex lata hinterfragen. Es sollen typische Fallkonstellationen an der Grenze zwischen Verwaltung und Verfügung n?her beleuchtet und der Versuch unternommen werden, die Grenzlinien pr?ziser abzustecken. Wo die geltende Rechtslage zu unbefriedigenden Ergebnissen führen muss, sollen zudem m?gliche Auswege aufgezeigt werden.