Statements about public funding

Summary

In a general election year, political parties publish manifestos which detail the policies that the party stands for and would wish to implement if elected to govern. To provide context around the commitments set out in the manifestos, political parties tend to include claims about how much funding would be allocated to different policies and services put forward. Government funding announcements are not unique to elections and can come from any department at any point in time.

In April 2020, the Office for Statistics Regulation published regulatory guidance on statements about public funding. The guidance has two aims:

• To help those reading public funding announcements understand what to look out for so they are not misled.
• To encourage those producing or supporting statements to ensure that the statements are clear and can be understood by all.

While we encourage everyone to read the guidance in full, here we provide a summary.

Things to consider when viewing public funding announcements:

The statement should be clear on how the policy initiative or change being announced is funded, such as indicating where the figures used have come from and how the amount of funding has been calculated.

The announcement should be clear as to whether any increase in funding comes from new money or the reallocation of existing resources, including where increases in funding cover previously announced spending.

The figures referenced in the statement should be provided alongside appropriate context, including updates on changes in the target population, changes in the remit of the service or organisation, or the governance of funding arrangements, which may present barriers to spending. The statement or supporting material should provide information on the funding structures in place that are relevant to the announcement.

The figures used in the statement should be clearly labelled as being in cash terms or real terms. The baseline comparator should be relevant and consistent and not mask longer-term trends.

The period which the funding commitment covers should be clear, and any cumulative figures should be broken down to show year-on-year changes. The statement should be clear whether the commitment is ongoing or relates to a specific time period.

What to look out for when hearing statements regarding funding announcements:

The complexity of funding structures and arrangements not being clear in the statement, so the amount of funding announced does not reflect the actual amount received by the target audience, for example, how the average school funding uplift relates to the amount individual schools receive.

Selectivity of data in statements about funding being at “record highs” or “record levels”. This includes an inappropriate or inconsistent choice of comparisons being made.

While infographics can be a helpful way to share the key headlines from funding announcements, they are at risk of being misinterpreted due to the limited space available to include context and supporting information. Where infographics are used, these should prioritise including the source of the data, and where text is present, this should link to supporting information in the public domain that can back up the statement in the infographic.

Incoherent data sources between government departments for statements on public funding. Noticeable discrepancies in expenditure figures between departments can reduce public confidence and trust in these statistics. We encourage public funding commitments to be based on the best available data, and any related statements should be clear in the supporting material as to why the data source used is the most appropriate.

Wider support

There are a number of fact-checking organisations which investigate public funding statements made by the government. These include Full Fact, BBC Reality Check, Channel 4 Fact Check, FactCheckNI and The Ferret. These organisations often produce helpful summaries of the data and information which supports the statements being made and helps clarify any elements which may be open to misinterpretation.

It is also worth keeping an eye out for think tank summaries of statements on public funding. The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes a Guide to public finances and organisations such as the Institute for Government and the Institute for Fiscal Studies provide independent analysis and commentary on public funding announcements – particularly for the Budget.