Compulsory or not compulsory: the use of competition in British local government.

This article examines the content and outcomes of the "competition" element of the British Government's best value (BV) regime. It focuses on the claim that BV policy grants British local authorities the freedom, previously absent from the former policy of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT), to provide local services without recourse to compulsory competition. Utilising results of a survey of BV lead officers, the article reveals that, while the use of "competition " is far from ubiquitous, in terms of outcomes the services subject to BV seem to be at least as likely to be provided externally as would have been the case under CCT. Further analysis of the response of the BV inspection service to these outcomes and on different types of service is provided