Devolution

It is now just over two years since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union. Since then, it is fair to say that there has been a confusing barrage of apparently contradictory claims about the state of the economy.

The Prime Minister has committed to spending increases for the NHS over the next five years and promised this would be at least partly funded by a ‘Brexit dividend’. This is not the first time that NHS spending increases have been linked to the UK’s exit from the EU – the now infamous £350 million per week pledge was a significant feature of the 2016 referendum campaign.

How should we fund social care? When you try to answer such a big question, you quickly realise there are a whole host of underlying questions one needs to think about.

With a national roll out of 100 per cent business rates retention unlikely in the next few years, David Phillips from the Institute for Fiscal Studies asks if it is worth looking to the longer term and more radical tax devolution.

This presentation briefly sets out some key issues for local government finance - including related figures for the Bristol area.

From tomorrow, Scottish residents will for the first time be subject to a different income tax schedule from those resident elsewhere in the UK. This is because of the Scottish parliament’s decision to use recently devolved powers over income tax bands and rates for non-savings and non-dividend income to freeze the higher-rate threshold (the point at which the rate of income tax rises from 20% to 40%) for the new financial year. Doing so exacerbates some existing deficiencies that afflict the tax system throughout the UK, and highlights the continuing need for tax reform.

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David Phillips, associate director at IFS, gave this presentation to the LGiU's Network on the Future of Local Democracy on 28th March 2017. It touches upon some of the main changes to local government over the last few years and years ahead, and key issues that arise.

Welsh funding: Assessing the fiscal framework deal

The fiscal framework and the Scottish budget process: some thoughts

What if the Welsh Government raises or cuts taxes? Implications for revenues and behaviour