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Finance
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Unfair funding system must go
Unfair funding system must go, says Assembly
An urgent review of Government spending is needed to stop England losing out to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and halt under-funding of English regions, says the South East England Regional Assembly.
Assembly Chairman Cllr Keith Mitchell CBE called for immediate action following today's report by think tank IPPR, which shows that Government's 'Barnett formula' for distributing public spending is unfair and needs to change.
Cllr Mitchell said:
"The system is patently unfair. Last year the South East received one of the lowest levels of public spending in the whole UK, receiving £2,111 less per head than London and £1,802 less per head than Scotland.
"Our share of funding simply does not reflect the high cost of delivering public services in the South East, congestion problems and the need to provide new schools, hospitals and transport links for our growing population."
Cllr Mitchell added:
"In the South East, we hand over £15 billion more in taxes each year than we receive back through public services; that £15bn goes in subsidy to the other parts of the UK. Without a new system that re-invests more in maintaining our successful economy, that £15bn contribution to the rest of the UK will be at risk."
The Barnett formula was introduced as a temporary measure in 1978 but is still in use 30 years later. It distributes public spending across the four nations within the UK - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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