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Rate Capping and Local Government
Author(s) -
McVicar Malcolm,
Atkinson Rob
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9515.1985.tb00227.x
Subject(s) - politics , product (mathematics) , local government , government (linguistics) , set (abstract data type) , aggregate (composite) , resistance (ecology) , business , public administration , public economics , economics , political science , law , computer science , nanotechnology , mathematics , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , materials science , geometry , biology , programming language
This paper argues that rate‐capping was an inevitable product of the government's determination to control both the aggregate expenditure of local government and that of all individual authorities. We set out the background to these developments before going on look in more detail at the mechanics of rate‐capping and its likely effects on the services provided by “capped” authorities. We challenge the rationale underlying rate‐capping, arguing that its motivation is largely political and that to be effective all (or most) authorities will have to be rate‐capped. Finally we examine the resistance being offered by “capped” authorities, their chance of success and the implications for central‐local relations.