01233pab a2200157 454500008004000000100002200040245009200062260000900154300001300163362001100176520078000187650003700967650002101004700002101025773002901046180718b2002   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aMidwinter, Arthur  aCentral grants and local spending in Britain: a reappraisal of the post-layfield period  c2002  ap.49-73.  aAutumn  aCentral grants have long been regarded as key financial instruments for controlling and directing local spending in Britain, and the drift to centralisation of funding has increased their importance.  This article shows that a consistent pattern of reducing the percentage of funding by grants results in an intermittent pattern of growth and reduction in spending.  However, when grant is growing in real terms, higher local taxes result, even if the grant percentage is being reduced.  This suggests that grant manipulation only delivers spending reductions in the short term, as the constraints of incrementalism on budget choices lead to politically unacceptable outcomes, and thus a system of high grant dependency needs competent management by government. - Reproduced.  aLocal government - Great Britain  aLocal government  aCarmichael, Paul  aLocal Government Studies