Modernising local government: The impact of new political arrangements on chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the effects of new forms of executive government on local authority chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales. Based on a new institutionalist approach to research (Lowndes, 2002), survey and interview data were gathered during 2004–05. There are four principal findings: (i) effects of changes to the officer structure; (ii) changing emphasis between the centre and services; (iii) changing roles for chief officers; and (iv) impact and changes as a result of the new arrangements. Political modernisation of local government and the narratives of elite actors are highlighted and theoretical implications are advanced in conceptual models.

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by a UWIC Research Opportunity award from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. We would like to extend our particular thanks to Steve Leach for his input and insightful suggestions. We would also like to acknowledge Vivien Lowndes and Lynne Evans for their comments on an earlier draft of the paper, and to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive remarks.

Notes

1 For a detailed description of the traditional committee system employed by local authorities see Stoker (1991).

2 Although these options can be viewed as far-reaching, Leach and Wilson (2002) comment on how limited they are and that the option of a mayor selected by the council, as in France and Spain, was not offered.

3 For a critique of rational choice theory see Dunleavy (1991).

4 March and Olsen's (1989) work was written in response to the growing influence of rational choice theory and thus some of its focus has much to do with providing robust arguments to counter a different theoretical stance.

5 Whether or not the changing requirements for COs is reflected in, for example, employment advertisements, person specifications, and so on, is a moot point and links to issues associated with ‘New Public Management’ (see Pollitt, 2001 and Hartley, 2005).