"This book brings together an outstanding group of experts to examine financial and legal issues in local government. Despite the obvious importance of local government services in everyday life, there is relatively little scholarly analysis of the challenges affecting local authorities, faced with an ever-changing political climate and worsening financial pressures. A particular strength of the book is that the contributors are able to combine detailed legal analysis, for example, of local authorities’ statutory obligations, with a rich understanding of the practical and financial constraints within which they must be fulfilled. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in law and policy relating to local government from both practical and constitutional perspectives." Anne Davies, University of Oxford