Local government - some resources

First up, five especially useful sources for finding out more about local government:
1: The Ilkley Gazette is an obvious starting point - look for recent stories which tell you anything about the powers or spending of the local council - what do they fund, what do they control? (I've linked some sample articles below)

The BBC's guide on local government funding

2: The gov.uk guide breaks down some of the many roles and responsibilities of local and regional councils.(scroll to bottom for a screenshot)

3: There is always the wiki on Local Government in England...

4: The Guardian newspaper has a useful microsite bringing together all its articles on local government.
Here, for example, is an article on an analysis of spending cuts faced by local councils nationwide, from May 9th, 2013.

5: The BBC provide this useful guide on local government funding.

Further resources on local government:
Here's the BBC or the Financial Times on the story about spending cuts for local government ... or try the Local Government Chronicle!.

Here's an article analysing Local Government Minister Eric Pickles' 1.7% funding cut for 2013-14.

Elsewhere, you can find lost of analysis on the topic of library closures, such as this Guardian article (and here's their microsite bringing together all articles on this topic).
The BBC also report on this story.
Google carries a lot of news links for the search 'local government cuts'.

The cuts have impacted locally; here's a few stories that refer to Ilkley or Keighley:
(BBC) Council services face further cuts;
(Telegraph) Titchmarsh: Sin to cut funding for parks;
(Ilkley Gazette) Shock and outrage at Otley food bank need;
(Ilkley Gazette): Charity battle as funds run out.


The gov.uk guide breaks down some of the many roles and responsibilities of local and regional councils.