Local Administration
SIR,—Surely the most likely criticism which can be levelled against the suggested Government enquiry into the administration of local authorities is that this is'yet anothet intrusion by the central adminis- tration into the realm of local affairs. For political reasons electricity and hospital services have already been removed from the control of local authorities with consequent burden to the taxpayer; it is to he hoped that there will be no further weakening of local administra- tion, and that such an enquiry will confine itself to matters outside the present sphere of local government.
That urgent measures are needed to alleviate the ever-increasing burden of rates is not disputed, but analysis of recent estimates show that a large percentage of the increase is due to national awards in respect of salaries paid to staffs. What is required is an enquiry ,by the local authority itself as to whether the maximum effort is being obtained from the existing staffs, and whether there is not room for some. amalgamation of various departments with consequent reduction of such staff.
Whether this is a matter that should he tackled by the local authority itself or an independent firm of business consultants is a debatable point; but it must always be remembered that members of a Council may well allow certain loyalties to their colleagues, their own past decisions, their own committees or their chief officials to influence their minds, however genuine and sincere they may be to effect economies. - In short they cannot be expected—in the face of any fierce resistance by heads- of departments—to approach these matters in the same spirit of detachment as an independent arbiter. It is not always easy to persuade a Council that this is a- course worth considering, because members feel that to do so would be a vote of censure on themselves for not carrying out their duties properly or for being incapable of so doing. In a matter in which the only consideration is the interest of the ratepayers, personal prestige must surely be secondary.
If local authorities reorganise their own internal adminEstration, and ensure that there is no waste in matters within their MVO jurisdiction, the proposed Government enquiry can confine itself to the question of Exchequer and Equalisation Grants, the "anomalies of derating" and the " clumsiness of valuation lists " together with other matters which are quite outside the scope of local authorities and are depen- dent upon Act of Parliament.
It a " two-way " approach on these lines is adopted, a substantial reduction in future rates should confidently be expected.—Yours
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