To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the needs criteria used in England to fund public expenditure in the regions. [HL4933]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the criteria they use to assess regional needs in England when allocating expenditure to the regions. [HL4934]

Her Majesty's Treasury allocates spending on a department-by-department basis. Allocations by region for each department's programmes are designated by the department concerned. For example, the regional development agencies' single programme budget is divided between regions using a funding formula which takes into account the needs of the region including skills, worklessness and productivity.