Skip to main content

Barnett formula

According to the Daily Telegraph today, Gordon Brown has ordered a review of the Barnett formula, which allocates public funding across the UK.

The formula is very simple - for every pound the UK government distributes for spending around the country, 85 pence goes to England, 10 pence goes to Scotland and 5 pence to Wales and is suppose to reflect the relative population of each part of the UK.

For a detailed explanation, see the Treasury paper on Barnett.

As Lord Barnett himslef has agreed, this review is long overdue but I would suggest that this is more to do with the growing concerns of middle class voters in many parts of England as opposed to coming up with a fairer system that reflects the actual needs of each region of the UK, including Wales.

Of course, the outcome for Wales all depends on the methodology recommended for allocatting future funding and rather than gaining more money for Wales, we could actually lose out to some of the the poorer English regions such as the North East of England.

Comments

dotcommentator said…
It's rather depressing that we in Wales are reduced to debating whether we'd be better off squeezing money out of the Treasury with Barnett or with a potential Barnett Mark II. If our economy were in a decent shape we'd be able to make our point much more forcefully.
March 05, 2008 1:16 pm
Anonymous said…
We shouldn't be afraid of a review of the Barnett formula and if it doesn't come out in our favour then maybe silly stunts like free prescriptions and free car parking will finally be off the agenda and it will have to focus the minds of our elected representatives on economic matters such as a Bank of Wales or a Stock Exchange.
March 05, 2008 2:35 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is...
Read more

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They ...
Read more

INTRAPRENEURSHIP

Whilst we often consider entrepreneurship to be associated predominantly with new start-ups, larger firms - in order to compete effectively in fast-changing global markets - are adopting more innovative and enterprising approaches to management within their organisations. One of these approaches is the development of entrepreneurship within a corporate environment (or intrapreneurship). Research has shown that intrapreneurship is not easy, and there are considerable differences between an intrapreneurial and a traditional corporate culture, with the latter having an emphasis on a culture and reward system that tends to favour caution in decision-making. For example, large businesses rarely operate on a "gut-feeling" for the market-place, as many entrepreneurs do. Instead, large amounts of data are gathered before any major business decision is made, not only for use in rational business decisions, but also for use as justification if the decision does not produce optimu...
Read more