Bureaucracy is a crucial resource to a politician who wishes to see his or her policies implemented effectively. The organisation of skills, expertise and administrative processes are the means to politicians' ends. The power of bureaucracies can, however, thwart politicians' plans as well as facilitate them. Those in political power face a dilemma: to get things done they need to allow paid officials to act and make decisions but they also need to be assured that those officials will act in accordance with the political will. The proposed research explores this trade-off in the context of English local government. The key aim of the research is to assess whether the political context does influence the strategies used by politicians in monitoring expenditure. Data will be collected from a mix of sources, including council constitutions and websites and a postal survey.