scholarly journals Localism and the environment: A critical review of UK Government localism strategy 2010–2015

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Eagle ◽  
Aled Jones ◽  
Alison Greig
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Central Government ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Environmentally Conscious ◽  
Economic Innovation ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

From 2010 to 2015, the UK coalition government sought to reduce the influence of central government and follow a strategy of localism. Devolution, bringing people closer to democratic process and strengthening communities, became a key point of emphasis. The belief was that localism and devolution would empower socially, help instigate economic innovation and lead to the establishment of greener, more environmentally conscious behaviour. The findings of this paper challenge this rationale. Through an analysis of community energy policy, this paper highlights how the strategy of localism that emerged during the coalition government’s tenure, did not allow pro-environmental schemes, such as community energy, to flourish. The significant scaling back of state funding and structure, which became a feature of the coalition government’s approach to localism, restricts the ability and desire for communities to positively affect their surroundings. It is the recommendation of this paper that future governments should look to emerging ‘eco-localism’ literature, and establish a model of localism that moves away from existing neoliberal perspectives of governance.

scholarly journals Small- and medium-sized enterprises and public procurement: A review of the UK coalition government's policies and their impact

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Loader
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Monitoring Progress

This paper examines the public procurement policy towards small- and medium-sized enterprises adopted by the UK coalition government during its five-year term of office from May 2010 to May 2015. First, it determines the policy instruments that have been implemented; second, it tracks policy development throughout the period and, third, it considers measurement and assessment of policy outcomes. Finally, it discusses the direction and nature of the policy development and considers implications for future policy development and further research. The paper found that the coalition government had actively and consistently pursued the policy of improving small- and medium-sized enterprise access to public procurement throughout the parliament. It determined that the coalition government had advanced the UK's intervention approach by its efforts in monitoring progress against some targets and, especially, by its increased use of regulation. As the legislation was introduced at the end of the period of office, it has been too early to consider how effectively the new requirements are being implemented, but the need to consider compliance and enforcement is identified. An aspirational target to spend 25% with small- and medium-sized enterprises was ostensibly met by central government departments but there is a need to develop better ways of measuring and collecting data. Finally, the evidence has revealed a low level of awareness of the initiatives amongst the target small- and medium-sized enterprise audience.

Moving from E-Government to T-Government

2009 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishanth Weerakkody ◽  
Gurjit Dhillon
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

Most public services are overly complex, and separate where citizens have no choice in the service that they receive. All too often, Information and Communication Technologies are overlaid onto existing organisational structures without any consideration to how these structures can be improved. In this context, the UK government is striving towards a vision for government-wide transformation, in which local authorities and central government departments are endeavouring to work with each other to deliver better services to citizens, via a one-stop-shop environment for all services under the guise of electronic government (e-government). Having successfully e-enabled customer facing processes, the UK government is now working towards reengineering and e-enabling back office processes and information systems to facilitate more joined-up and citizen-centric e-government services. These efforts are referred to as the transformational stage of e-government or t-Government. This chapter seeks to explore what t-Government means to local authorities in the UK and what process related challenges have to be overcome to successfully implement transformational change in local government. A number of broader issues of strategic, organisational, socio-cultural, and technical origin are identified in the literature as presenting a considerable challenge for this goal. However, using a case study of a key local government service, this chapter shows that more obviously, but often ignored, process and information systems related issues pose an even more significant challenge in practice.

scholarly journals Empathy and Expertise: Case Workers and Immigration/Asylum Applicants in London

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (02) ◽  
pp. 430-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah James ◽  
Evan Killick
Keyword(s):  
State Funding ◽  
Immigration Law ◽  
Legal Aid ◽  
Value For Money ◽  
Asylum Law ◽  
Case Worker ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Immigration And Asylum ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Funding Cuts

Under recent reforms, the UK government has eroded state funding for civil legal aid. Funding cuts affect asylum and immigration law as produced, practiced, and mediated in the course of interactions between case workers and their clients in legal-aid-funded Law Centers in South London. The article explores the contradictory character of one-on-one relationships between case workers and clients. Despite pressure to quantify their work in “value for money” terms, the empathy that often motivates case workers drives them to provide exceptional levels of aid to their clients in facing an arbitrary bureaucracy. Such personalized commitment may persuade applicants to accept the decisions of that bureaucracy, thus reinforcing a hegemonic understanding of the power of the law. The article, however, challenges the assumption that, in attempting to shape immigrant/refugees as model—albeit second-class—citizens, case worker/client interactions necessarily subscribe to the categories and assumptions that underpin UK immigration and asylum law.

scholarly journals Don’t panic: Bringing complexity thinking to UK Government evaluation guidance

Evaluation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31
Author(s):  
Martha Bicket ◽  
Dione Hills ◽  
Helen Wilkinson ◽  
Alexandra Penn
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Evaluation Policy ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Multiple Stages

Central government guidance seeks to ensure and enhance the quality of practice and decision-making across – and sometimes beyond – government. The Magenta Book, published by HM Treasury, is the key UK Government resource on policy evaluation, setting out central government guidance on how to evaluate policies, projects and programmes. The UK Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus was invited to contribute its expertise to the UK Government’s 2020 update of the Magenta Book by developing an accompanying guide on policy evaluation and ‘complexity’. A small multidisciplinary team worked together to produce a set of guidance, going through multiple stages of work and drawing on a variety of sources including academic and practitioner literature and experts and stakeholders in the fields of evaluation, policy and complexity. It also drew on Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus’ own work developing and testing evaluation methods for dealing with complexity in evaluation. The resulting Magenta Book 2020 Supplementary Guide: Handling Complexity in Policy Evaluation explores the implications of complexity for policy and evaluation and how evaluation can help to navigate complexity. This article, designed primarily for practitioners who might be interested in this guidance and how it was developed, describes the processes involved, particularly related to the interdisciplinary dialogue and consultation with other key stakeholders that this involved. It also briefly outlines the content and key messages in the guidance, with reflections on the experiences of the authors in developing the guide – including the challenges and insights that arose during the process, particularly around the challenges of communicating complexity to a broad audience of readers.

scholarly journals The challenges and contradictions of state-funded community organizing

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Grimshaw ◽  
Lewis Mates ◽  
Andie Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Community Organizing ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
The North ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe UK coalition government introduced the Community Organisers Programme in 2010, providing state funding to train community organizers in England for the first time. This article presents a case study in the north of England, exploring the implementation of the programme. It illustrates the challenges and contradictions faced by trainee community organizers and suggests lessons for community practitioners and policymakers of all political complexions in the United Kingdom and other countries.

Moving from E-Government to T-Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 2240-2255
Author(s):  
Vishanth Weerakkody ◽  
Gurjit Dhillon
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Government Services ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Back Office

The UK government is striving towards a vision for government-wide transformation, in which local authorities and central government departments are endeavouring to work with each other to deliver better services to citizens via a one-stop-shop environment for all services under the guise of electronic government (e-government). Having successfully e-enabled customer facing processes, the UK government is now working towards reengineering and e-enabling back office processes and information systems to facilitate more joined-up and citizen centric e-government services; these efforts are referred to as the transformational stage of e-government or T-Government. This paper seeks to explore what T-Government means to local authorities in the UK and what process related challenges have to be overcome to successfully implement transformational change in local government.

Moving from E-Government to T-Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 349-364
Author(s):  
Vishanth Weerakkody ◽  
Gurjit Dhillon
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Government Services ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Back Office

The UK government is striving towards a vision for government-wide transformation, in which local authorities and central government departments are endeavouring to work with each other to deliver better services to citizens via a one-stop-shop environment for all services under the guise of electronic government (e-government). Having successfully e-enabled customer facing processes, the UK government is now working towards reengineering and e-enabling back office processes and information systems to facilitate more joined-up and citizen centric e-government services; these efforts are referred to as the transformational stage of e-government or T-Government. This paper seeks to explore what T-Government means to local authorities in the UK and what process related challenges have to be overcome to successfully implement transformational change in local government.

The IMF, the UK Policy Debate, and Debt and Deficit Discourse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Clift
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Fiscal Consolidation ◽  
Policy Space ◽  
Fiscal Multipliers ◽  
Scientific Image ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Deep Recession ◽  
The Imf

This chapter charts changing character of the economic ideas informing fiscal policymaking in Britain, and Fund responses to them. Drawing on interviews with the Fund’s UK Missions and UK authorities, it shows how, despite the IMF’s prizing of its non-political, scientific image, its differing views of UK policy space and prioritization became the stuff of a contested politics. The central assumption of the coalition government’s construction of fiscal rectitude was that Britain faced a ‘crisis of debt’, yet the IMF did not share this view. Fund work on fiscal multipliers being higher during recessions, and the adverse effects of fiscal consolidation on growth, all had pointed relevance for UK policy. The coalition government saw little potential for activist fiscal policy in support of growth. In 2013 Blanchard accused the UK authorities of ‘playing with fire’ by pursuing excessively harsh austerity which threatened a prolonged and deep recession.

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