Local government and community needs: A case study of Muslims in Coventry

As the main providers of public sector services to ethnic minorities, many local authorities throughout the United Kingdom have developed some experience in community consultation. The process is, however, fraught with potential pitfalls such as the frequent assumption by local authority officers that they are dealing with a community in full agreement about their needs and the difficulty of the communities themselves, on the other hand, in mastering the complex bureaucratic procedures of local government programmes. This article explores these issues through a case study of Coventry City Council's efforts to meet the community needs of its Muslim population.