Coastal communities and social policy

Formula funding is unlikely to rank high in the list of popular conversation topics. It is not something that comes to mind, even when we are pleased with or concerned about our local public services. Given the technicalities involved in setting funding formulae, it is not unreasonable to assume that the government is getting it right: that robust mechanisms are in place to ensure that services that are ultimately paid for and owned by the public are being resourced in ways that concur with public values. Yet, as Professor Sheena Asthana and Dr Alex Gibson have discovered over many years of researching this area, formula funding is not an exact science. It is a process that has been subject to a lack of clarity with respect to the objectives of resource allocation, to technical errors, a lack of transparency and considerable inequality regarding per capita allocations against underlying service need. With the exception of the NHS, coastal communities have been arguably underfunded across a range of government sectors. Our work explores why this is the case and how unfair funding is related to other coastal challenges, particularly those relating to the economy.