Originally published in 1961, when many of the existing books on British Government dealt predominantly with its structure and organization. Little light had been shed on the detailed processes of day-to-day administration. This was the first of a series sponsored by the Royal Institute of Public Administration which would make good this deficiency. It provided the citizen, the official and the student with a closer insight into the problems and intricacies facing administrators at the time and thereby contributed to a better understanding of the British system of government.

Each of the five cases in this volume spotlights an episode in recent British administration. From central government come the stories of how a personnel problem was handled by a central department, and a history of the negotiation of a financial agreement between the United Kingdom and Spain; from local government, studies of how Coventry moved its Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market from the old city centre to new quarters in the suburbs, and of the administrative difficulties created by a problem family; and from the nationalized industries, the description of how the South Western Electricity Board centralized and mechanized its accounting procedures.

The reader will quickly sense that this pioneer study could not have been written without the goodwill and close cooperation of the public authorities with which these particular case studies are concerned. Today it can be read in its historical context.

This book is a re-issue originally published in 1961. The language used and views portrayed are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.