The Barnett formula
The Barnett formula

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on the Barnett Formula

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2009-07-17

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9780108444654

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The Barnett Formula is the mechanism used by the United Kingdom Government to allocate more than half of total public expenditure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Formula has been used for the last thirty years to determine the annual increase in allocation (the increment). Each year these increments are added on to the previous year's allocation (the baseline) to create what is now a significant block grant of funds. The Formula accounted for almost £49 billion of public spending in 2007-08. Despite the political changes within the United Kingdom the Formula has continued to be used and has never been reviewed or revised. The Formula was only intended to be a short term measure and should no longer be. A UK Funding Commission should be established to assess relative need in the UK's regions and advise on a new method of distributing funding to reflect those needs. The baseline has never been reviewed to take account of changing population patterns; this means that the grant provides funds without reference to the needs of each of the countries and regions of the UK. There should be a link between the grant of funds made to each of the administrations and their actual per capita funding needs. The Committee's research suggests that England and Scotland have markedly lower overall needs per head of population than Wales and Northern Ireland. The Committee suggest that the UK Funding Commission undertake an assessment of relative need now and in the future and that they undertake periodic reviews as well as publish annual data about the allocation of funding between the devolved administrations.

The Impact of Local Government Modernisation Policies on Local Budgeting-CIMA Research Report
The Impact of Local Government Modernisation Policies on Local Budgeting-CIMA Research Report

Author: W. B. Seal

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

Published: 2008-07-18

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 0080878911

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This CIMA research report focuses on post-1997 policy innovations for the public sector and their impact on traditional budgeting practices. In light of recent failures to reform local budgeting post 1997, it seeks to distinguish between original intentions of reform and their consequences offering alternatives to local government modernisation, appropriate changes in strategic partnerships, and new organisational structures.The key question for the report is the extent to which it is possible or useful to reform traditional practices, paying particular emphasis to the nature of modernisation in the governmental post 1997 period.The report includes an in-depth investigation into two case authorities in the UK. The analysis will include findings from sources beyond the finance divisions of these authorities. The study is comprehensive, insightful and practical focussed. The authors concentrate their investigation on a longitudinal field study of budgetary practice in two large and contrasting English local and produce a detailed comparison of the two cases. The report concludes with recommendations to users of local government budgeting.The final chapter discusses the comparison of the two cases. It provides us with a number of concluding observations: e.g.* There is a need for more participation in budgeting and especially a more credible system for schools to get involved in the budget setting process and if the school's budgeting system is to remain centralise dor become even more centralised then policy makers need to have a better knowledge of educational cost drivers - A pioneering study evaluating individual service areas as opposed to ranking of overall corporate performance and offering a pragmatic solution to local government modernisation - The first comprehensive investigation of two vastly different geographical locations of UK - Aids understanding by analysing and producing a detailed comparison of two local authorities

Formula Funding of Public Services
Formula Funding of Public Services

Author: Peter C. Smith

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-09-27

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1134229844

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The use of formulae has become widespread in recent years across most developed countries. In the UK, a conservative estimate is that annually £150 billion of public service expenditure is distributed using formulae, in services such as health care, local government, social security and higher education. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice underlying the use of such formulae as a basis for funding public services. The philosophy, design and economic consequences of funding formulae have become key policy issues worldwide. However, till now, there has been no text which brings together the economic, statistical and political issues underlying formula funding. This key book fills that gap. Written by a leading international expert on the design of funding formulae, this important book includes empirical evidence from a range of countries and will be a valuable resource for all those involved in this field.

The Funding of School Education
The Funding of School Education

Author: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Publisher: Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789264276130

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This report on the funding of school education constitutes the first in a series of thematic comparative reports bringing together findings from the OECD School Resources Review. School systems have limited financial resources with which to pursue their objectives and the design of school funding policies plays a key role in ensuring that resources are directed to where they can make the most difference. As OECD school systems have become more complex and characterised by multi-level governance, a growing set of actors are increasingly involved in financial decision-making. This requires designing funding allocation models that are aligned to a school system's governance structures, linking budget planning procedures at different levels to shared educational goals and evaluating the use of school funding to hold decision makers accountable and ensure that resources are used effectively and equitably. This report was co-funded by the European Commission. .

Comparing Devolved Governance
Comparing Devolved Governance

Author: D. Birrell

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-03-29

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0230389791

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Examines recent evidence of a growing symmetry in the operation of devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This book makes one of the first systematic and detailed comparisons of the operation of the devolved institutions and machinery of governance. It uses a comparative approach to explore the key workings of government.

Devolution and Pluralism in Education in Northern Ireland
Devolution and Pluralism in Education in Northern Ireland

Author: Caitlin Donnelly

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2006-03-17

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780719068683

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This is the second of two anthologies designed to accompany the Open University course "From Enlightenment to Romanticism", an interdisciplinary exploration of the changes and transitions in European culture between 1780 and 1830. The collection of extracts in this anthology provides primary and secondary sources on changing landscapes, new forms of knowledge, new conceptions of art and the artist and the exotic and Oriential. Each selection is accompanied by a detailed introduction explaining the context and significance of the sources. Extracts in the anthology stimulate questions rather than provide reassuring answers and offer vital insights to the major events, movements and personalities of the time.

The Political Economy of Financing Scottish Government
The Political Economy of Financing Scottish Government

Author: Paul Hallwood

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1848449186

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The Barnett formula is doomed. These authors provide a readable and convincing guide to the alternatives. The volume is a wonderful example of what tight economic reasoning can do its case for fiscal autonomy is unanswerable . Professor Michael Artis, University of Swansea, UK 'Written by two economists independent of the sort of political biases that mar so much of the discussion this book offers a refreshing, analytical and authoritative economic analysis of the various paths for fiscal reform in Scotland'. Professor Drew Scott, The University of Edinburgh, UK Hallwood and MacDonald make a compelling case for the devolution of fiscal authority to Scotland to increase fiscal autonomy and improve fiscal performance. They suggest not only the need for such devolution but provide a careful analysis and blueprint of how to do it. Wallace E. Oates, University of Maryland, US Fiscal autonomy could raise economic growth and efficiency in Scotland, benefiting both Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. C. Paul Hallwood and Ronald MacDonald discuss how other reform proposals, which amount to cutting Scotland s block grant, would not be seen as legitimate by Scottish voters, and would be unlikely to reduce the burden on the Westminster budget. The authors demonstrate how public finances can be organized to minimize the price of tranquillity in multi-regional states. Advances proposed in the new fiscal federalism literature are used to explain why fiscal autonomy would be a superior system compared to the present block grant system and fiscal federalism, whereby Scotland would be granted limited tax powers. Their extensive review of recent econometric studies finds that tax devolution in other countries has been largely successful.

Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery in Kenya
Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery in Kenya

Author: Abdu Muwonge

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2022-02-23

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 146481726X

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Kenya adopted a new Constitution and began the process of devolution in 2010. The new Constitution was the institutional response to longstanding grievances over the centralization of state powers and public sector resources, and regional disparities in service delivery and development outcomes. This radical restructuring of the Kenyan state has three main objectives: decentralizing political power, public sector functions, and public finances; ensuring a more equitable spatial distribution of resources between regions; and promoting more accountable, participatory, and responsive government at all levels. The first elections under the new Constitution were held in 2013. Alongside the national government, 47 new county governments were established. Each county government is made up of a County Executive, headed by an elected Governor and works under the oversight of an elected County Assembly. Seven years after the "devolution train" left the station, this report takes stock of how devolution has affected the delivery of devolved basic services to Kenyan citizens. Whereas devolution was driven by political reform, the ensuing institutions and systems were expected to deliver greater socioeconomic equity through devolved service delivery. The Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery (MDWSD) study is the first major assessment of Kenya’s devolution reform. The study was a jointly coordinated effort by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank. The study provides key messages with respect to what is working, what is not working, and what could work better to enhance service delivery based on the currently available data. It provides an independent assessment of service delivery performance in five sectors, namely health, education, agriculture, urban, and water services and includes an in-depth review of the main pillars of devolved service delivery, namely public financial management, intergovernmental finance, human resource management, politics and accountability.