PLANNING AND CONTROLLING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE IN THE UK, PART I: THE TREASURY'S PUBLIC EXPEIWITURE SURVEY

The Treasury's annual survey of public expenditure is the central element in planning and controlling public expenditure. While its purpose remains similar to that in the 1970s, the principles governing its preparation, the methodology employed and the conduct of negotiations between the Treasury and the departments have changed with successive attempts to control both the total and programme allocations more effectively. This article examines and explains the process of preparing the survey, through the main stages from the decisions about the size of total public spending in the context of the government's macroeconomic strategy to the announcement in the Autumn Statement of the planned totals and allocations for the next three years and finally to the publication in February of the departmental Public Expenditure Chapters. Part I1 [Summer issue] analyses the effects and effectiveness of the survey processes, and discusses whose interests have been best served.     

ORGANIZATIONAL REDUNDANCY? A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE GEAR PROJECT

'Area approaches' have become a new conventional wisdom for dealing with urban deprivation. Such thinking is evident in Michael Heseltine's Liverpool 'initiative'. This article contributes to an emerging critique of such approaches, by highlighting some political and organizational problems rather than stressing their incipient economic difficulties. Arguably the biggest anti-deprivation project in Western Europe, the Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal scheme (GEAR) is taken as a case study. Official claims of success are juxtaposed against an alternative perspective outlining possible weaknesses and dilemmas. Critical analysis leads to the conclusion that the GEAR constellation of organizations may be best regarded as a mutually non-effective organizational set. The persistence of such an institution, while serving short-term political and administrative needs, may unwittingly produce longer-term negative political and social consequences. The authors argue that if such problems are to be avoided in the future, the political and organizational drawbacks of this type of initiative must be appreciated.     

THE FUTURE OF POLICE AUTHORITIES: MEMBERS VIEWS

Part of the argument about police accountability concerns the role of police authorities, their membership and powers. The Conservative, Alliance and Labour Parties have developed policies which are broadly retentionist – leave things as they are – reformist – change the membership – and radical – empower police authorities to determine policy. The evidence suggests that police authority members' views, though broadly consistent with their party policies nationally, differ in some important respects. Conservatives are increasingly unhappy about the statutory co-option of magistrates. Alliance members appear not to favour an increase in the proportion of nonelected members. And many Labour councillors entertain doubts about the control model.     

The liability of the duressor

Liverpool Law Review - It has been argued that a better understanding of the nature of excuses gives rise to solutions to many problems concerning the liability of secondary parties. The duressor...