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 CRACHACH

Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales?  As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales.  Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience.  They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...
30 comments
Read more

THE FUTURE FOR SILICON VALLEY

During the last twenty years, there have been many academics, politicians and policymakers (including yours truly) who have looked over to the innovation developed in Silicon Valley, California and wondered if we could ever emulate that success here in Wales. Whilst the former First Minister Rhodri Morgan proposed only last week that South Wales could become the “UK’s answer to Silicon Valley”, he is not alone in the world with such a suggestion for his local area. With imitation often being the sincerest form of flattery, many others regions across the globe have tried to emulate the ‘secret sauce’ that has led to this small valley to the South East of San Francisco becoming the seedbed for world-leading companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple and Google. But after fifty years of success, can it maintain its position as the premier location for innovation in the World? This is a question that its own business community has recently been asking itself. This has culminated in a...
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