Rejected petition Fair Funding Settlement for Welsh Public Services

One of the many legacy issues remaining from the devolution settlement is the unfairness of the annual block grant from the UK government. It’s based on historical spending per capita established in the mid1970s to which the Barnett Formula was added in 1978 as a temporary formula to distribute additional funding to the then devolved territories and regions of the UK. This was set up by Lord Barnett (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) who later stated that it does not meet Wales' needs fairly.

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It does not take proper account of differing needs (arising from such things as social deprivation, higher unemployment, lower incomes) nor the relative cost of delivering public services (e.g. population density) in each nation and region.
Based on need, Wales has historically been significantly underfunded.
We who have signed this petition believe that it is time for the Senedd to demand that Wales’ share of UK public funds for devolved services and devolved investment should be on a par with the higher per-capita allocation given to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The block grant funding mechanism needs to change to reflect the relative needs for those public services and the relative cost of providing them. This must be addressed before powers over income tax are devolved.

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the Senedd or Welsh Government is not responsible for.

Petitions to the Senedd must call for a specific action that falls within the powers of the Senedd or Welsh Government. The financial settlement is the subject of regular discussion between the Welsh Government and UK Government. However, ultimate decisions regarding the mechanism used to allocate funding is the responsibility of the UK Government and is not devolved.

As a result, it is not possible for the Senedd to take the action called for by your petition

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards

Rejected petitions are published in the language in which they were submitted

Date submitted 7 June 2020
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