IFS says local government funding system is not fit for purpose

The most deprived 20 per cent of local authorities are getting a smaller share of local government and police funding than they need, while the least deprived 20 per cent are getting a larger share then they need.

That's one of the conclusions of, a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. You can download the report from the IFS website.

The Guardian story about it says:

The government’s levelling up plans for England are being hampered by a funding system that is 'not fit for purpose' and deprives the poorest areas of the financial support to match their needs, a leading thinktank has said.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the method for allocating money to pay for public services is out of date, based on inadequate data and skewed in favour of the better-off south-east.

Calling for urgent reform, the thinktank said the funding system was doing a 'poor job' in ensuring money was being spent in the parts of England where it was most needed.

This does not come as a surprise. At the heart of Conservatism is the belief that the people and areas doing very nicely thank you out of the current system should continue to enjoy that status.

In his lucid moments, Boris Johnson grasped that the party needed something more than this to appeal beyond its heartlands. But the very name 'levelling up' should have come as a warning - as if you can divert spending to one area without taking it away from others.

h/t Peter Black, as we used to say when blogging was a thing.