The extra public cash given to Scotland could be under threat in an MPs backlash against the new prime minister. Gordon Brown was criticised for last week's speech on constitutional reforms which did not address the ‘West Lothian question' – the anomaly under which Scottish MPs can vote on English policies in parliament, but English MPs have no say over the Scottish parliament. Questions have also been raised over the future of the Barnett Formula, which provides an extra £1,500 per head of public funds to Scotland. The Local Government Association welcomed the constitutional reform statement but said it was waiting to see ‘if the Prime Minister's words are matched by his deeds' when it comes to funding. Chairman Sir Simon Milton said: ‘It will be in the comprehensive spending review this autumn that councils will know whether or not the Prime Minister is truly up for devolving and trusting local government and the people they serve.' The Barnett Formula was introduced 30 years ago to address problems of deprivation in Scotland. But even Joel Barnett who devised the scheme has since called for it to be scrapped.
