The Politics of Needs Assessment: The Treasury Select Committee and the Barnett Formula

Abstract

Parliamentarians’ interest in Scottish public expenditure has been rising since 1987, when the electoral results left the Conservatives vulnerable in Scotland. Southern English MPs described the Scottish Office budget as a ‘slush fund’, and argued that Scots were being ‘force-fed’ with public expenditure. This interest has deepened as a direct result of the public debate over devolution (Midwinter, 1989). Although the author focuses here on developments in Scotland, many of the issues are relevant to devolution proposals in Wales, Northern Ireland and perhaps the English regions also.