Ms Jackie Maguire:

Not necessarily, but it could be a challenge at some particular times. The local authorities have to produce a capital report on a three-year rolling cycle. This is presented to their members each year. In this report the management has to estimate what its council's capital receipts are going to be. This may be from grants or development levies, for example. Because of the growth in the private sector, the development levies have been increasing over the years. This has to be matched with the spend in the council's capital account. Some of that must be spent for specific purposes. If the council collects levies for roads it must spend it on roads. If it is collected for community facilities, it must be spent on community facilities.