Is it time to review the Barnett formula?
The so called Barnett formula has been a thorn in the side of many governments in Westminster as it has attracted real anger from many of the population who live in England. Despite being the main contributor to UK Plc and raising the most taxes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the payment per head of population from the central government pot leaves England bottom of the pile. So why has it not been reviewed?
Many people will not be aware but the Barnett formula has been reviewed on a number of occasions to take into account the cost of living and population growth (the last being 2002). As a consequence the Scottish element for example has fallen in real terms but it still receives significantly more money per head of population than England. The split is as follows :-
England £7,121 per head of population
Scotland £8,623
Wales £8,139
Northern Ireland £9,385
While many people talk about the Barnett formula as if it has some legal standing or formal recognition on the statute books, it does not. There is no legal requirement to use the formula and the Treasury could actually decide to change it tomorrow. It is not hard to see who the biggest losers would be if it was abolished in the future!
Share this..
Related stories
Will David Cameron perform a U-turn on capital gains tax?
David Cameron is this evening under major pressure to amend his plans to increase capital gains tax from 18% to anywhere up to 50%. It is unclear whether at this point in time the coalition government is taking notice of Conservative backbenchers who are up in arms about the position taken up by the government regarding capital gains tax. There is no doubt that the Liberal Democrat party has ta...
Read MoreFinancial wellbeing improved only 0.2% in five years
31/03/2015 Official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the financial wellbeing of households has only improved by 0.2% in the last five years. The Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) is a measure that records household income after tax and is adjusted for inflation.The RHDI did increase by 1.9% per head in December 2014, but the measure is only 0.2% hig...
Read MoreCutting back on your household bills
While the cost of living in the UK peaked in the middle of 2008 it is still substantially higher than 12 or 24 months ago. There is still a need to cut back on your domestic bills as much as possible including electric and heating. By simply switching off your electrical appliances at the plug when not in use you can make significant savings in any one calendar year. Heating is also a situation wh...
Read MoreTelegraph finally reveals source of leak
The Daily Telegraph has today revealed the source of its leaked MPs expenses data as being one of the employment agency staff brought in to photocopy and process all MPs expenses. It now appears as though the Daily Telegraph paid around £110,000 to a third party acting on behalf of the mole although as yet we do not know the name of the contact within the Treasury.
While initially...
National Savings and Investments income payments delayed
It has been revealed that around 8000 investors in National Savings and Investments (NS&I) income bonds have not received their January payment due to "technical issues". Those affected acquired their income bonds between 24 November 2009 and 28 November 2009 and were due to receive their latest income payment on 5 January. While the government has not been forthcoming with regards to reasons for...
Read More