Pricing and local authorities

The erosion of local government's capacity to raise revenue from taxation might be expected to have led to changes in its approach towards charging for services. This article, based on research commissioned by the Local Government Management Board, shows that most local authorities still do not consider that charging for services would be either desirable or practical. This is not due to conservatism or inertia within local government, but the ethical and practical considerations surrounding raising revenue from a diverse set of services which are predominantly focused on social welfare.