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THE NEW CENTRALISM: LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE IN THE 1990s
Author(s) -
Midwinter Arthur,
Monaghan Claire
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
financial accountability and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.661
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1468-0408
pISSN - 0267-4424
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0408.1995.tb00401.x
Subject(s) - centralized government , local government , government (linguistics) , public administration , financial system , business , political science , politics , law , linguistics , philosophy
Since the mid‐ 1970s, the problem of accountability in local government finance has been referred to consistently in government and has produced a range of responses from the centre. In the 199Os, the problems of implementing the poll tax resulted in its replacement with a modified property tax, supplemented by tight expenditure controls ‐ in Layfield's terms, a ‘centralist’ solution. The centre now provides 85% of local income and controls the upper limits of local spending, leaving only a minor degree of fiscal discretion with local authorities. The new tax arrangements have proved acceptable, as has the grant system, but political conflict remains over the acceptability of capping controls.