Centralisation is driven by funding, the vast majority of which is both raised and spent by Whitehall. The fiscal power of “sub-central” government – here meaning the devolved administrations, mayors, councils, and bodies like Police and Crime Commissioners – is small both in absolute terms and relative to international comparators.
OECD data shows that the portion of the UK’s taxes raised at a sub-central level is only 5.1%, around a third of the level in France (13.5%) and a sixth of the level in Germany (32.2%). This means that the majority of funding being directed towards local or regional government needs to come from the Exchequer, increasing the authority of the Treasury.
