~John McCartney~ looks at the progress of ‘fourth option' councils

The Local Government Act 2001 ushered in cabinet government to most local authorities, giving them three options for change – a cabinet and leader, a cabinet and mayor, or a mayor and city manager. But a late amendment resulted in some smaller councils being able to opt for the ‘fourth option'. While this meant they could keep their existing political structures, they still had to introduce scrutiny processes.