Improving Public Funding Allocations to Reduce Geographical Inequalities
In recent years, the issue of widening geographical inequalities across the UK has gained significant attention. This is fuelled by several interconnected factors. A highly centralised governance system, coupled with fragmented devolution, has led to policies ill-suited for diverse local and regional needs. In addition, short-term, small-scale initiatives and competitive funding practices have failed to provide sustained support for struggling areas.
Compounding these issues, austerity measures and fiscal crises affecting many English local authorities have severely limited their capacity to drive sustainable local growth. This combination of structural problems and financial constraints has created a challenging environment for addressing local and regional disparities and promoting equitable development across the country.
The election of a new UK Labour Government in July 2024 presents an opportunity for change, with addressing spatial disparities a top priority. The Government’s plan involves a three-pronged approach: empowering communities; fostering partnerships between Westminster, local leaders, and the private sector; and adopting a proactive central government role. The idea is to unlock local potential and coordinate efforts more effectively over the longer term. However, a crucial challenge remains: how to efficiently allocate limited public resources in a strained economy to support this ambitious agenda. The new government must balance its transformative goals with the fiscal realities it inherits, requiring innovative strategies to maximise the impact of available funds and stimulate sustainable local and regional growth.
To address this complex issue, the research team seeks to answer five fundamental questions:
- What funds and funding allocation approaches exist in the UK, and how do they interact at different institutional levels and geographical scales?
- How do funding approaches impact opportunities to utilise funding in places to best meet local needs?
- What are the implications of devolution for the allocation and use of funding in place?
- How can funding allocation better align with the priorities of people in place?
- What are the options for policy reform to improve funding allocation in England?
By addressing these questions, the research team aim to contribute to the UK Government's policy goal of reducing spatial inequalities by suggesting more effective ways of allocating funding between different areas in England.
Our project objectives are to gain insights on:
- Existing funds and funding allocation approaches in the UK across different institutional and geographical levels.
- How different funding approaches impact how funding is utilised in practice.
- The successes and failures of English devolution in supporting more effective funding allocation.
- The diverse experiences of actors beyond government in funding allocation decisions, to promote a more equitable process with fairer outcomes for people and places.
- Actionable lessons for government and other relevant stakeholders to guide improvements to funding allocation mechanisms.
The project brings together a highly experienced interdisciplinary team from the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, De Montfort, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth and Sheffield, together with the National Centre for Social Research and Metro Dynamics.
Charlotte Hoole from City-REDI, University of Birmingham is the Principal Investigator. She is joined in the leadership team by eight Co-Investigators (Sheela Agarwal, Sarah Ayres, Jon Burchell, Ceri Davies, Jonathan Davies, Anne Green, Daniel Mutibwa, Andy Pike), Mike Emmerich and James Gilmour. Abigail Taylor and Sanne Velthuis are Research Fellows on the project.
The Project Advisory Group (PAG) is made up of academics, policy makers at different levels of government and practitioner experts from the private and third sectors. Their role is to provide advice to the project team on how best to design and execute the research so that it has maximum value and influence.
Membership
- Dr Arianna Giovannini, Associate Professor of the Sociology of Political Phenomena, University of Urbino, Italy
- Calum Green, Director of Advocacy & Communication, Involve
- Jeffrey Matsu, Chief Economist, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
- Bec Riley, Chair Green Book Users Group, Professor for Enterprise, Engagement and Impact and Co-Director, City-REDI, University of Birmingham
- Bridget Rosewell CBE, Commissioner for the independent National Infrastructure Commission, and Board Member and Chair, Volterra
- Mark Sandford, Senior Researcher, House of Commons Library & Honorary Professor, Bristol University
- Jack Shaw, Policy Fellow, University of Manchester’s Productivity Institute
- JP Spencer, Principal Consultant, Metro Dynamics & Former Head of Green Book and Major Projects Unit, HM Treasury
- Victoria Sutherland, Head of Evidence at the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth, Centre for Cities
- Andrew Walker, Head of Research, Local Government Information Unit (LGiU)
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