Financing the Future: Discussion paper

UK political and financial context

Some of the biggest challenges all governments across the UK and Ireland need to grapple with, both now and in the future, are how to raise and spend money effectively to deliver the outcomes required to achieve their policy aims. Public finances are increasingly stretched, and across the UK we are collectively facing challenging economic and demographic transitions which will exacerbate spending challenges and necessitate difficult choices for those in positions of power.

Adding to this challenge, public awareness and engagement in the debate around revenue and spend is often limited, in part because these topics are complex and it can be difficult to understand fully how money is being raised and spent by government.

Associated conversations can therefore also be limited and are often lacking in creativity and characterised by political risk mitigation on the part of decision makers. Frequently, the political debate on what funds to raise and how is heavily influenced by ideology. In addition, our revenue and spend models are rarely considered holistically in the context of investment for shared outcomes across portfolios. Tax, revenue and spend policies are often viewed in isolation of each other in terms of their cumulative policy impact.

An additional factor in our political and public policy landscape is the asymmetric nature, and continuing evolution of, the devolved settlements in the nations and regions of the UK. The growth of empowered mayoralties in England is the latest tier in an increasingly complex map of devolved policy powers over aspects of revenue raising and spending across the UK. As these tiers of devolution grow and evolve, often, little consideration is given to their coherence and interaction in relation to effective and long-term public policy making that cuts across traditional portfolios.

We believe that the prism of collective wellbeing can provide a unique, helpful and important lens through which to better view these issues and their interactions.

Questions for feedback

Our paper has provided a deliberately limited overview of several significant and complex areas of UK public policy. We have sought to provide additional impartial information on these issues in the various appendices to this document.

With this information in mind, we are interested in understanding more about different aspects, options and opinions on issues relating to a new social contract for wellbeing between citizens and the state.

In particular, we welcome stakeholder opinions and insight on the following five questions:

Get in touch with Jo McGilvray.