scholarly journals Austerity, Localism, and the Possibility of Politics: Explaining Variation in Three Local Social Security Schemes Between Elected Councils in England

2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042199066
Author(s):  
Rod Hick
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Budget Cuts ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Demographic Differences ◽  
Social Fund ◽  
Financial Climate

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government abolished the Discretionary Social Fund and Council Tax Benefit in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 as part of their programme of austerity, with powers to design replacement schemes devolved to local authorities in England. Discretionary Housing Payments, which had long been the responsibility of local authorities, were given an expanded role – to soften the edges of welfare reform being pursued by central government. This article presents analysis of a new quantitative dataset constructed by the author detailing variations in these three payments across local authorities in England. This analysis explores the variation in provision that now exists across England and examines the extent to which the political makeup of elected councils, as well as economic and demographic differences, can explain the variations in provision that now exist. We find that there has been substantial retrenchment in the local social security schemes in the period since their localisation, indicating that the devolution of powers alongside budget cuts has proved a successful mechanism for implementing austerity. We also find that the political makeup of elected councils is associated with the degree of cutbacks in these schemes, with Labour-led councils less likely to retrench across all three payments when compared with councils led by the Conservative party, suggesting that politics remains possible even in a harsh financial climate such as that faced by local authorities in England.

scholarly journals The roles of government departments

1969 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-115
Author(s):  
A. McG Peart
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Post Office ◽  
Economic Region ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Affected Area ◽  
Critical Part

The direct responsibility for local action in the event of natural disasters in New Zealand falls on the urban and rural local authorities affected, but the structure of New Zealand’s society in general assigns departments of central Government key roles. This applied particularly
to the Vest Coast following the earthquake. The Coast has long been struggling as an economic region and has to a degree become dependent
 on a number of central Government activities for its economic existence. Government departments therefore played a significant and perhaps critical part in actions which followed the Inangahua disaster. Those with establishments in the affected area of Hokitika, Greymouth, Reefton, Inangahua, and Westport were Social Security and State Advances (normally concerned with social and financial affairs), the Ministry of Works, N. Z. Electricity Department, N. Z. Post Office, N. Z. Railways, and Police (responsible for physical works or the provision of essential community services). Departments in the second group are experienced in dealing with the effects of frequent emergencies as far as their equipment and services
are concerned, and were thus able and ready to deal effectively with many problems created by the earthquake.

Research on how to Improve the Liveability of City Community

2012 ◽  
Vol 174-177 ◽  
pp. 3503-3506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
City Community ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Innovative Approaches

The term ‘liveability’ has markedly risen up the political agenda in the UK in 2003, with an £89m Liveability Fund being given to 27 local authorities from central Government. The government also developed many other related policies, regulations and targets to improve the quality of local environment. This paper presents the positively interrelated factors that can greatly contribute to the promotion of liveability. It aims to synthesize a set of innovative approaches to improve the liveability of our living places and make cleaner, greener and safer communities.

scholarly journals Монгол улсад төвлөрлийг сааруулах асуудал

2017 ◽  
pp. 40-45
Author(s):  
Энхтайван Л ◽  
Ариунаа Л
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Fiscal Centralization

No Mongolian AbstractIn general decentralization is connected with the transfer of responsibilities for planning, management, resource raising and allocation from the central government to the lower levels of government. In particular fiscal decentralization means that local authorities become responsible for the expenditure and revenue assignment. From the economic and political science perspectives fiscal decentralization will improve resource allocation and accountability, which results in an efficient and effective supply of public goods and support private markets.In last decade Mongolia has introduced a number of decentralization measures, which followed a top dawn approach and were slowly implemented without any integrated decentralization strategy. Currently Mongolia is a de-concentrated state with fiscal centralization. The local governments are still far away from having the political, administrative and fiscal autonomy to manage their own affairs.

How Do Land Takings Affect Political Trust in Rural China?

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 91-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernan Cui ◽  
Ran Tao ◽  
Travis J. Warner ◽  
Dali L. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Good News ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Rapid Economic Growth

While China's ruling Communist Party has benefited from a reservoir of political trust engendered by more than three decades of rapid economic growth, it is confronted with rising social tensions and the prospect of instability. The number of mass incidents, which is a key measure of instability, has risen enormously, and a major source of such incidents stems from local governments taking land from farmers, often at below-market prices. This article draws upon data from two surveys to assess the political trust implications of land takings. It is found that, as expected, land takings are associated with a decline in political trust. However, the decline affects trust in local authorities only and leaves the central government largely unscathed. Nonetheless, the gap between villagers' trust in central and local authorities is not unalloyed good news for the regime and has major implications for policy implementation and governance.

Income and Life Quality of Farmer Households Suffering Social Exclusion

2012 ◽  
pp. 63-87
Author(s):  
Anh Mai Ngoc ◽  
Ha Do Thi Hai ◽  
Huyen Nguyen Thi Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Statistical Method ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Economic Aspect ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
The Impact

This study uses descriptive statistical method to analyze the income and life qual- ity of 397 farmer households who are suffering social exclusion in an economic aspect out of a total of 725 households surveyed in five Northern provinces of Vietnam in 2010. The farmers’ opinions of the impact of the policies currently prac- ticed by the central government and local authorities to give them access to the labor market are also analyzed in this study to help management officers see how the poli- cies affect the beneficiaries so that they can later make appropriate adjustments.

PERIMBANGAN KEUANGAN ANTARA PEMERINTAH PUSAT DENGAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH DALAM PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DAERAH

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Edward Hutagalung
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Fiscal Capacity ◽  
Regional Autonomy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
Regional Authority ◽  
Local Sources ◽  
Tax Sharing

The fi nancial relationship between central and local government can be defi ned as a system that regulates how some funds were divided among various levels of government as well as how to fi ndsources of local empowerment to support the activities of the public sector.Fiscal decentralization is the delegation of authority granted by the central government to theregions to make policy in the area of   fi nancial management.One of the main pillars of regional autonomy is a regional authority to independently manage thefi nancial area. State of Indonesia as a unitary state of Indonesia adheres to a combination of elementsof recognition for local authorities to independently manage fi nances combined with the element oftransferring fi scal authority and supervision of the fi scal policy area.General Allocation Fund an area allocated on the basis of the fi scal gap and basic allocation whilethe fi scal gap is reduced by the fi scal needs of local fi scal capacity. Fiscal capacity of local sources offunding that comes from the area of   regional revenue and Tax Sharing Funds outside the ReforestationFund.The results showed that the strengthening of local fi scal capacity is in line with regional autonomy.

Some Aspects of Identity Politics of Kharkiv Local Authorities After 2013

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Denys Kutsenko
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
New Policies ◽  
National Flag ◽  
The City

AbstractThe paper analyzes the transformation of identity politics of Kharkiv local authorities after the Euromaidan, or Revolution of Dignity, the annexation of Crimea, and the War in Donbass. Being the second largest city in Ukraine and becoming the frontline city in 2014, Kharkiv is an interesting case for research on how former pro-Russian local elites treat new policies of the central government in Kyiv, on whether earlier they tried to mobilize their electorate or to provoke political opponents with using soviet symbols, soviet memory, and copying Russian initiatives in the sphere of identity.To answer the research question of this article, an analysis of Kharkiv city and oblast programs and strategies and of communal media were made. Decommunisation, as one of the most important identity projects of Ukrainian central authorities after 2014, was analyzed through publications in Kharkiv’s city-owned media as well as reports from other scholars. Some conclusions are made from the analysis of these documents: Kharkiv development strategy until 2020, Complex program of cultural development in Kharkiv in 2011–2016 (and the same for 2017–2021), The regional program of military and patriotic training and participation of people in measures of defense work in 2015–2017, Program of supporting civil society in 2016–2020 in Kharkiv region and the city mayor’s orders about the celebration of Victory Day (9 May), the Day of the National Flag (23 August), the Day of the City (23 August) and Independence Day (24 August) in 2010–2015.

MECHANISMS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TAXES AND INSURANCE

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 121-130
Author(s):  
Anatolii Petrovich Mykolaiets
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Production Management ◽  
National Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Environmental Taxes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Natural Form

It is noted that from the standpoint of sociology, “management — a function of organized systems of various nature — (technical, biological, social), which ensures the preservation of their structure, maintaining a certain state or transfer to another state, in accordance with the objective laws of the existence of this system, which implemented by a program or deliberately set aside”. Management is carried out through the influence of one subsystem-controlling, on the other-controlled, on the processes taking place in it with the help of information signals or administrative actions. It is proved that self-government allows all members of society or a separate association to fully express their will and interests, overcome alienation, effectively combat bureaucracy, and promote public self-realization of the individual. At the same time, wide direct participation in the management of insufficiently competent participants who are not responsible for their decisions, contradicts the social division of labor, reduces the effectiveness of management, complicates the rationalization of production. This can lead to the dominance of short-term interests over promising interests. Therefore, it is always important for society to find the optimal measure of a combination of self-management and professional management. It is determined that social representation acts, on the one hand, as the most important intermediary between the state and the population, the protection of social interests in a politically heterogeneous environment. On the other hand, it ensures the operation of a mechanism for correcting the political system, which makes it possible to correct previously adopted decisions in a legitimate way, without resorting to violence. It is proved that the system of social representation influences the most important political relations, promotes social integration, that is, the inclusion of various social groups and public associations in the political system. It is proposed to use the term “self-government” in relation to several levels of people’s association: the whole community — public self-government or self-government of the people, to individual regions or communities — local, to production management — production self-government. Traditionally, self-government is seen as an alternative to public administration. Ideology and practice of selfgovernment originate from the primitive, communal-tribal democracy. It is established that, in practice, centralization has become a “natural form of government”. In its pure form, centralization does not recognize the autonomy of places and even local life. It is characteristic of authoritarian regimes, but it is also widely used by democratic regimes, where they believe that political freedoms should be fixed only at the national level. It is determined that since the state has achieved certain sizes, it is impossible to abandon the admission of the existence of local authorities. Thus, deconcentration appears as one of the forms of centralization and as a cure for the excesses of the latter. Deconcentration assumes the presence of local bodies, which depend on the government functionally and in the order of subordination of their officials. The dependency of officials means that the leadership of local authorities is appointed by the central government and may be displaced.

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