Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, according to the latest figures, what is the difference between the average public expenditure per head in Scotland and in England; and whether that figure has increased since the Select Committee on the Barnett Formula published its report in 2009.
Answered by Lord Deighton
Data on public expenditure per head in Scotland and England since 2008-09 can be found in the following table.
Table 9.2 Total identifiable expenditure on services by country and region, per head 2008-09 to 2012-13 | ||||||||||
£ per head | Index (UK identifiable expenditure = 100) | |||||||||
National Statistics | National Statistics | |||||||||
2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
North East | 8,930 | 9,547 | 9,583 | 9,189 | 9,419 | 110 | 110 | 110 | 106 | 107 |
North West | 8,551 | 9,122 | 9,171 | 9,003 | 9,252 | 105 | 105 | 105 | 104 | 105 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 7,889 | 8,470 | 8,490 | 8,467 | 8,610 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 98 | 98 |
East Midlands | 7,385 | 7,964 | 7,970 | 7,937 | 8,118 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 92 |
West Midlands | 7,972 | 8,446 | 8,437 | 8,356 | 8,498 | 98 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 |
East | 7,116 | 7,808 | 7,830 | 7,689 | 7,865 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 89 |
London | 9,097 | 9,876 | 9,809 | 9,439 | 9,435 | 112 | 113 | 112 | 109 | 107 |
South East | 7,070 | 7,514 | 7,554 | 7,440 | 7,638 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 87 |
South West | 7,413 | 7,956 | 7,956 | 8,013 | 8,219 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 93 | 94 |
England | 7,911 | 8,498 | 8,508 | 8,368 | 8,529 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 |
Scotland | 9,332 | 9,841 | 9,868 | 9,941 | 10,152 | 115 | 113 | 113 | 115 | 116 |
Wales | 8,955 | 9,504 | 9,612 | 9,710 | 9,709 | 110 | 109 | 110 | 113 | 110 |
Northern Ireland | 9,996 | 10,506 | 10,572 | 10,665 | 10,876 | 123 | 121 | 121 | 124 | 124 |
UK identifiable expenditure | 8,142 | 8,718 | 8,735 | 8,631 | 8,788 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
The information can be found in Table 9.2 in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2014 document[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-2014
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they propose to maximise the availability of new pension freedoms.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The Government response to the consultation “Freedom and Choice in Pensions”, which was published in July, sets out how the new pension freedoms will be enacted. The Government estimates that up to 18 million people will be able to benefit from the reforms.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Newby on 9 July (HL Deb, cols 209–11), whether they intend to continue to encourage investments in (1) the alternative investment market, (2) start-up businesses, and (3) forestry, in the light of the tax relief available for such investments.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The government currently offers a range of tax reliefs to encourage investment. These form an important part of the government’s growth strategy and its commitment to make the UK one of the best places to start, finance and grow a business in Europe.
To ensure the tax reliefs remain well-targeted, the reliefs are only available where certain conditions are met. The government keeps all these schemes under review to ensure that the reliefs continue to encourage investment in a well-targeted and effective manner.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent calculations by the Taxpayers’ Alliance that £120 billion of public funds was wasted last year; and what actions they are taking to ensure that public spending offers value for money.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The Government is committed to maximising value for money in all areas of public spending, and has introduced a programme to drive efficiencies and reduce wasteful expenditure. By 2014-15, departments working with HM Treasury and the Efficiency and Reform Group in the Cabinet Office will be saving £20 billion a year compared to 2009-10. Spending Round 2013 identified over £5 billion additional efficiency savings in 2015-16.
The Government sets clear principles and guidance for the management of public resources, including achieving value for money, in Managing Public Money. Ensuring value for money is the personal responsibility of each Accounting Officer. The methods by which civil servants determine the long run value for money of programmes are set out in The Green Book: Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the exchange level of sterling on the United Kingdom’s economic recovery.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The UK does not have an exchange rate target. The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The MPC has the primary objective of maintaining price stability, defined as an inflation target of 2 per cent as measured by the twelve month increase in the Consumer Prices Index. Under the Government’s macroeconomic framework, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly, and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised forecasts of the tax revenues from North Sea oil; what is their estimate of the fiscal implications of those revised forecasts for an independent Scotland; whether they expect tax revenues from North Sea oil to recover; and, if so, when.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has set out the basis for its forecasts of oil and gas tax revenues in the Fiscal Sustainability Report. The forecast shows that these tax receipts, as a share of GDP, are set to decline by 84 per cent over the forecast period. The government has not made a separate assessment of these forecasts.
The OBR has not published an assessment of what the fiscal position of a separate Scotland would be. However, other independent experts have estimated that in 2016-17, a separate Scotland would have a deficit (per person) of more than twice that of the UK.
HM Treasury has estimated that each person in Scotland is £1,400 a year better off in the UK. That’s equivalent to around two thirds of the total NHS budget in Scotland, or almost as much as Scotland’s entire education budget.
The OBR’s new, lower, oil and gas tax receipts forecast only make a separate Scotland’s fiscal position tougher. In the UK, as part of a larger country, we can pool resources and share risks. This means that public spending in Scotland can remain secure and stable, even as revenues from oil and gas are volatile.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 7 July (WA 12), what representations the Chancellor of the Exchequer made to the Governor of the Bank of England during their most recent discussion on possible increases in interest rates.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues on the UK economy.
Asked by: Lord Barnett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on possible increases in interest rates; and what was the outcome of those discussions.
Answered by Lord Deighton
The UK's monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues on the UK economy.