This is a general reference text on all the key areas of law applicable to local authorities. This edition incorporates the Local Government Act 2003 which has made fundamental changes to the duties and powers of local authorities.

This textbook has been designed to provide students of administrative and local government law with an accessible edition of those chapters of Cross on Local Government Law which are necessary for their studies. It deals with the principles of the subject rather than specific areas of the responsibility of government officers. Topics discussed include the legal framework, acquisition of powers, areas and status, administrative machinery, acquisition of land, by-laws, finance, rates, rating and community charges, grants, contracts, tort and criminal liability, general control, judicial control, local elections and the state of local government in London.