Conclusions and recommendations
1. We recommend that the Government Office for each English Region produce annually an analysis of expenditure in their region, in a similar format to that provided by the Government Office for the East Midlands to this inquiry. That information should be published.
(Paragraph 10)
2. It is right that public expenditure should be mapped and co-ordinated at a strategic level and the 'Total Place' initiative could be a useful tool for achieving this. We call on the Government to publish an evaluation of the final reports from the 'Total Place' pilots as soon as this is available. We urge the Regional Minister to explore whether this method could be applied to the region as a whole.
(Paragraph 16)
3. We commend the Government on the introduction of the Regional Funding Advice exercise. This provides the region with an opportunity to influence priorities for spending in the region. We urge the Government to consider whether the exercise could be extended to other areas of funding.
(Paragraph 22)
4. We commend emda,
EMRA and regional stakeholders for the co-ordinated way they have
responded to the Regional Funding Advice exercise. We urge them
to note the advice offered by the Government for future exercises.
(Paragraph 23)
5. Population statistics are a major factor in calculating the level of funding for public services. The Government and the Office for National Statistics must ensure that the most current population figures are available to be used for funding decisions. We recommend mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that regular updates to these figures are available to ensure that funding better reflects current population figures and takes into account predicted changes.
(Paragraph 36)
6. We note witnesses' agreement that transport in the East Midlands has been historically underfunded. It is unacceptable that the region's funding per head for transport remains 65% less than the UK's spend per head. We commend the investment of Network Rail and East Midlands Trains but are concerned that, due to the historic underinvestment in the region, it will still lag behind other regions.
(Paragraph 49)
7. We urge the Government to liaise closely with regional stakeholders to take forward schemes which, with relatively low investment, could mean major improvements in the transport infrastructure, particularly the Midland Mainline, in the region.
(Paragraph 50)
8. We commend regional stakeholders for their work on electrification of the Midland Mainline. We agree with the Minister for the East Midlands that they should continue their work to resolve any specific issues that need to be addressed so that a decision can be made at the earliest possible date. We urge the Minister to continue to pursue this issue with colleagues in Government.
(Paragraph 59)
9. We urge the Government to approve the electrification of the Midland Mainline as soon as possible. This will bring demonstrable major transport, economic and environmental benefits to the region and the country.
(Paragraph 60)
10. We recommend that the Government introduce more transparency and consultation on the way floor damping applies to police funding.
(Paragraph 71)
11. We commend the Government on the increases in police funding since 1997. However, we are disappointed that the Government has not implemented the funding settlement in full. The region is missing out on £19 million of police funding which would mean an additional 518 officers. We recommend that the Government should implement the funding formula in full and phase out the floor and damping mechanisms.
(Paragraph 72)
12. We urge the Government to ensure that the delay to the next Comprehensive Spending Review does not impact on police funding in the East Midlands.
(Paragraph 75)
13. We recommend that the Government and the Office for National Statistics ensure that as up to date as possible population figures are available for police funding decisions.
(Paragraph 78)
14. We
welcome the £1.2 billion of lottery funding that the East
Midlands has received since 1994—this has had an enormous
impact on individuals and organisations in the region. We note
the slow start experienced by the region obtaining lottery funding
and commend the lottery distributors for their proactive efforts
to rectify this. However, we are concerned that due to this slow
start, the region continues to lag behind other regions in terms
of lottery funding. (Paragraph 90)
15. We
note the assistance that lottery distributors give to potential
applicants for lottery funding. We commend their efforts to increase
the number of applicants from the region. To assist with this
effort, we urge the Government and lottery distributors to continue
to examine ways to simplify the application process without diminishing
the requirement for good quality applications. (Paragraph 91)
16. We
welcome the increased provision for health services in the East
Midlands under the new funding formula. We will continue to monitor
the situation to see whether the expected higher levels of funding
are achieved. It is important that the data used for calculating
funding under the formula is as up to date as possible so as to
ensure the funding meets current needs and not those of the past.
(Paragraph 96)
17. We
welcome the increased funding for schools since 1997. We also
welcome the Government's review of the schools' funding formula.
We urge all local authorities in the East Midlands and other regional
stakeholders to participate in the Government's consultation on
school funding. We will monitor the effect of the new formula
to ensure that the East Midlands is not disadvantaged. (Paragraph
103)
18. We
welcome the increased funding that the East Midlands has received
for a wide range of services and projects in the region. Our inquiry
has focused on whether the East Midlands receives an appropriate
level of funding and examined whether the mechanisms for allocating
and delivering that funding from Government, national funding
organisations and regional bodies could be improved. (Paragraph
104)
19. Whilst
many services are not provided on a region wide basis, we note
that the Government is encouraging regional bodies to work together
in a more coordinated way. This is particularly illustrated in
the development of an Integrated Regional Strategy which will
provide guidance on transport, planning and housing matters. We
see part of that strategy as being the identification and securing
of appropriate levels of funding for the entire region. (Paragraph
105)
20. We
are concerned that the Government, when setting spending
limits and targets for services in the East Midlands, is not always
allocating the funding that their own formulae defines. As a consequence,
we are concerned that some service providers are unable to meet
the Government's targets. More transparency and simplicity is
required in the way funding levels are decided, particularly in
relation to how formulae are devised and the weighting and damping
mechanisms that are applied to them. It is essential that the
data provided to inform the formulae is as current and complete
as possible so that funding reflects current needs. (Paragraph
106)
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