ABSTRACT
The close interrelation of central and local government is nowhere more apparent than in the control of capital expenditure. Public investment in Great Britain constitutes nearly half the country’s total fixed capital formation. The level of capital investment is an important factor in the country’s economic situation. Since the Government has little direct control over the volume of private capital investment, much of its effort to maintain economic stability is concentrated on the public sector. It is part of the special relationship between local authorities and central government that central control covers not only the total volume of capital expenditure and the general pattern of its distribution between services and authorities, but the design and costs of each particular scheme. The commotion created by each crisis has had a very un-settling effect upon authorities and has adversely affected the efficiency of their building services.
