ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the role played by local government in alleviating poverty through the provision of local public services. Local government represents a substantial part of the overall welfare state in Britain and is particularly important in the provision of services in kind as opposed to cash benefits. Examination of survey evidence about the use of and attitudes towards local government services also highlights a number of other issues. Comparison of usage patterns across services aids our understanding of the different nature of different services, in terms of how they are rationed and delivered and the differing role of demand and supply mechanisms. Children’s services present a rather mixed picture. For both child care services and child play facilities, the distribution is moderately propoor on income, closer to neutral on class and somewhat in favour of the ‘less deprived’ over the ‘multiply deprived’. School meals are much more consistent in showing a pro-poor bias on all three overall indicators.
