Public sector finance ‐ strategies for library and information units ‐ the relationship between central and local government finance

The relationship between central and local government in Britain has changed rapidly since the early 1970s. Several factors have worked to produce an increasingly difficult central‐local relationship. These include: a gradual loss of confidence in the rates; increased use of grants for different purposes; the use of local government as an economic regulator, and changes in the economic and political landscape in Britain. Since the early 1980s, the relationship has altered enormously.