Devolved Administrations: Financial Flexibility Debate
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Lord Roberts of Llandudno
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Devolved Administrations: Financial Flexibility
Lord Roberts of Llandudno Excerpts(12 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Sassoon
My Lords, the United Kingdom Parliament—this House and another place—was not consulted before an awful lot of spending decisions were taken. That is the way that Governments make spending decisions.
Lord Roberts of Llandudno
My Lords, the Minister has, I think, criticised the Barnett formula. What plans does he have to bring in a different formula regarding Wales and Scotland?
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, would I ever be so bold as to criticise the Barnett formula? The Barnett formula has been widely questioned, not least by the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, himself. However, the Government’s priority has to be stabilising the public finances. If, in due course, the formula is to be superseded, the challenge is that there is no consensus on how to measure needs, which would be required to bring in some needs-based formula.