Inspectorates in British Government: Law Enforcement and Standards of Efficiency (Routledge Revivals) - Hardcover

Rhodes, Gerald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 104131700X ISBN 13: 9781041317005

Publisher: Routledge, 2026

Synopsis

Inspection is one of the oldest forms of governmental influence and control. Yet the process had been largely neglected in studies of British government. Originally published in 1981, this study examines two of its major, long-standing aims: to enforce statutory provisions and to ensure defined standards of performance.

At a time of growing interest in the performance of public authorities, Inspectorates in British Government showed that enforcement by central departments and local authorities had greatly expanded in relation to efficiency inspection. Does inspection still have a role in British government? Are there other more effective ways of achieving its objectives? These are some of the critical issues discussed by Gerald Rhodes.

Mr Rhodes examines the origin and development of inspection in four significant areas of government: trading standards, factories and mines, schools and pollution control. He shows that most enforcement inspectorates are severely constrained in using powers granted to them by Parliament, but there had been little attempt to assess the effectiveness of this form of inspection generally or of the particular methods employed – still less to consider possible alternatives.

Mr Rhodes calls for a more searching analysis of the whole inspection process and alternatives to it. Without this, he argues, inspectors will find increasingly difficulty in explaining and justifying their work to a public which is becoming more and more critical of the results.

Inspectorates in British Government will appeal to inspectors, policy-makers in central and local governments, teachers and students of public policy and administration and all those concerned with the regulatory process – not least the citizen, who must live with the consequences.

About this title

About the Author

Gerald Rhodes was, after an early civil service career, a freelance researcher with the Royal Institute of Public Administration from 1961, with the London School of Economics and from 1980, with the Policy Studies Institute.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 104131700X
• ISBN 13: 9781041317005
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296