This presentation highlights the level of public spending in the East and West Midlands over recent years, focusing particularly on comparisons with other parts of England and the wider UK;
• It draws heavily on HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) as the best available overall source for data on expenditure by region. It is an annual publication based on two defined frameworks; budgeting and total expenditure on services for the UK;
• We supplement PESA data from a variety of sources in order to provide a more granular analysis of funding streams relevant to economic development;
• Where data permits we have provided time series comparison;
• A variety of regional and sub-regional geographic areas are used for this analysis – again reflecting the nature of available data;
• The Northern Powerhouse has a higher national profile than the Midlands Engine. Previous studies have found that the North receives less public funding, particularly for transport projects, than London and the South East (Raikes 2019). This presentation seeks to explore this phenomenon from a Midlands perspective
