Even so, the Government continues to favour the private-finance initiative (PFI) and mount contrived competitions with capital spending as the prize. And these are often targeted at high-performing organisations. It is as if the philosophy of investing on the basis of need has been abandoned in favour of awarding prizes to the best bidder. Anyone in the public sector will be able to recall complex government initiatives, designed to ration scarce capital resources and – ostensibly – to restrict the public sector borrowing requirement (now the public sector net cash requirement).
If we look at the recent government decision on the location of gaming casinos, it is apparent that quite separate criteria were used for different decisions.
Blackpool and the Millennium Dome looked like racing certainties but neither crossed the finishing line in the lead.
In congratulating Manchester for its formidable case-making abilities, we might still wonder what Plan B is for the losing finalists.
There seems to be a genuine and substantial opportunity cost in not siting major casinos in either place. And, thinking about the dangers of gambling, it might have been advantageous to follow the American pattern of locating gaming centres as destinations in themselves – Las Vegas and Atlantic City – rather than in existing centres of population.
This may allow people the luxury of an occasional holiday or short break to enjoy a flutter, reducing the risk of forming a regular habit.
The likelihood is that this form of central government patronage will continue.
At least it guarantees that the capital investment goes to grateful recipients.
Two observations are worth making in conclusion. First, why was the Government involved in allocating gaming centres to local authorities in the first place? Even if the reason was based on licensing, it feels like a stretch. Commercial considerations appear to be the soundest basis for such decisions.
Second, it seems ironic that a gambling casino was first prize in a government bidding competition. Manchester must have felt as if it had won the Lottery – in more ways than one.
Jim Brooks is executive director of Sector Treasury Services