Barnett Formula Debate

[Uzzy]

As desired.

Northern Ireland received £5,684 per head: 21 per cent above the UK average spend per head and £1,161 more per head than that spent in England
Scotland received £5,676 per head: 21 per cent above the UK average and £1,153 more per head than that spent in England
Wales received £5,050 per head: 8 per cent above the UK average and £527 more per head than that spent in England
England received £4,523 per head: 3 per cent below the UK average.
Source.

Of particular interest to me is that I'm going to be paying £3,125 worth of Tuition Fees, which is going to benefit both English and Scottish Universities. Source.

This may not be subsidising Scotland (I retract that statement), but it is grossly unfair. I am totally in favour of Scotland having fiscal independence, so they raise their own money and spend it themselves. I'm not in favour of having less public money spent on me just because I was born in England and not 100 miles north.

 

[Rolfe]

Mmm, being born in England doesn't mean you have to stay there! Come and join us, it's lovey here!

Sorry, that's facetious. But do you really think that this much money is or is not being spent on you personally? Have you looked into the reasons for that figure? I would mention, for example, that it costs just as much to maintain a mile of road whether 1,000 people or 100,000 live at the other end of it.

I need to go home now. I have a cross that urgently needs putting on a ballot paper.

Rolfe.

 

[Uzzy]

Well, the woman I really quite like and want to date does live in Kilmarnock. So it's tempting at times..

I don't think that this or that much money is being spent on me personally, and yes, there are good reasons as to why the money being spent might be different, but I do think a difference of £1,153 per head per annum being spent on public services is hard to defend. Particularly when we down here have things like Tuition Fees, Prescription Charges, having to pay for parking at hospitals.

I wouldn't want Scotland to leave the union, as an aside, but if you guys voted for it, I wouldn't be too upset. (Just as long as I can come visit said woman). I do think Fiscal Independence would solve the disquiet over the Barnett formula, and satisfy the nationalists in Scotland to an extent.

 

[Rolfe]

I have no objection to the gradualist approach.

Rolfe.

 

[Architect]

Let's establish some ground rules to this discussion. To what extent are you familiar with the research of the BBC and others as part of the "Scotching the Myth" reports and in particular the exclusion of major civil service expenditure and issues around large capital project from the figures which you present?

 

[Architect]

I don't think that this or that much money is being spent on me personally, and yes, there are good reasons as to why the money being spent might be different, but I do think a difference of £1,153 per head per annum being spent on public services is hard to defend. Particularly when we down here have things like Tuition Fees, Prescription Charges, having to pay for parking at hospitals.

You are aware that we're given a fixed amount and it's up to us how to spend it, right? So, for example, the money to pay for prescription charges and the like has come about through cuts elsewhere in the system including the concordat with local authorities?

I work in the south a fair bit. Whilst the Scottish national media are aware of this fact, it seems unco' overlooked once we get much past Carlisle.