<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Local government in Northern Ireland has undergone a significant reform process in terms of both the number of councils (from twenty-six to eleven) and their functional responsibilities. Councils in Northern Ireland have always been regarded as the ‘poor relation’ of central government or non-departmental public bodies which deliver many of the services performed by local government in other parts of the UK (education, social services, housing). The reforms in Northern Ireland, while devolving relatively minor additional functions, offer councils a significant role in community planning – the legal power to hold central departments to account for services provided by them in local areas. This paper argues that councils can use this power to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.</p></abstract>

Local government in Northern Ireland has undergone a significant reform process in terms of both the number of councils (from twenty-six to eleven) and their functional responsibilities. Councils in Northern Ireland have always been regarded as the ‘poor relation’ of central government or non-departmental public bodies which deliver many of the services performed by local government in other parts of the UK (education, social services, housing). The reforms in Northern Ireland, while devolving relatively minor additional functions, offer councils a significant role in community planning – the legal power to hold central departments to account for services provided by them in local areas. This paper argues that councils can use this power to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.

Local government reform: Community planning and the quality of life in Northern Ireland

Institute for Research in Social Sciences, Ulster University

Administration

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Local government in Northern Ireland has undergone a significant reform process in terms of both the number of councils (from twenty-six to eleven) and their...

Local government reform: Community planning and the quality of life in Northern Ireland

Publié en ligne: 21 août 2015

Pages: 31 - 57

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/admin-2015-0009

Mots clés
Local government, community planning, quality of life

© Colin Knox et al.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Local government reform: Community planning and the quality of life in Northern Ireland

Publié en ligne: 21 août 2015

Pages: 31 - 57

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/admin-2015-0009

Mots clésLocal government, community planning, quality of life

© Colin Knox et al.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
Local government, community planning, quality of life