As we see, the governments have a wide array of interests to take care of. Most problems also only can be addressed after they occur, especially since this is the case in managing externalities, social inequality, or market failures. The government only intervenes when there are structural problems occurring. This reactive stance of most governments is also causing a lot of troubles as the outcomes can be observed for a long time and most of the time governments only react when it is too late.
Local government is responsible for a range of vital services for people and businesses in defined areas. Among them are well known functions such as social care, schools, housing and planning and waste collection, but also lesser known ones such as licensing, business support, registrar services and pest control. In England, more than one million people work in local government across a range of different types of authorities, providing more than 800 different services to local communities.
