Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by David Mundell (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 on behalf of the Scotland Office.

Scottish Constitutional Commission

Question: Has the Secretary of State discussed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the exact purpose of his factual paper on the Barnett formula? Given that the formula has been in operation for 30 years, that its details are well known and that the Treasury has not even consulted Lord Barnett about the preparation of the paper, is not the real purpose of the exercise not, as the Prime Minister claims, simply to inform the work of the Scottish constitutional commission, but to serve as the beginning of the review of the Barnett formula for which the Secretary of State for Justice and Labour Back Benchers have been lobbying?

Answer: It is nothing of the sort. The purpose of the exercise is exactly as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer described it: to inform the debate. The hon. Gentleman may know exactly what the Barnett formula is, but the ill-informed debate that constantly rages around the place suggests that many people could do with a refresher course on what it actually is and does.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 474 c1301
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Devolution Public expenditure Scotland Taxation Scottish Constitutional Commission
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk