Analyses 'joined-up government', considers its history, and evaluates the consequences for British institutions, such as the Cabinet, the civil service and local authorities. Showing that 'joined-up government' is a key theme of modern government, this volume is useful for those who seek to understand how developments in government affect lives.

These essays analyse 'joined-up government', consider its history, and evaluate the consequences for British institutions such as the Cabinet, the civil service and local authorities. 'Joined- up government' is a key theme of modern government. The Labour government, first elected in 1997, decided that intractable problems such as social exclusion, drug addiction and crime could not be resolved by a single department of government. Instead, such problems had to be made the object of a concerted attack using all the arms of government - central and local government and public agencies, as well as the private and voluntary sectors. This volume brings together contributions from distinguished academics and also those who have themselves been engaged as practitioners in developing joined-up programmes. It will be indispensable to all those who seek to understand how new developments in government are affecting our lives.

The British Academy deserves thanks for following up its original conference with this book, which one hopes will encourage research and reflection within government on these issues.