About the Centre

Current Research Projects

Project on the financial arrangements for devolved government within the United Kingdom, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s Devolution and Constitutional Change Research Programme [more]
Project on the financial reporting performance of Scottish local authorities, funded by the British Accounting Association Special Interest Group on Public Services Accounting Research in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy [more]
Project on the public expenditure record of the 1997-2001 Labour Government, funded by the Nuffield Foundation [more]

Completed Projects

David Heald guest edited a special issue of Scottish Affairs (No. 41, November 2002) on ‘Fiscal Autonomy under Devolution’. The Introduction, written jointly with Alasdair McLeod, appears here. Information on the other contributions appears here.
David Heald and Alasdair McLeod have written a comprehensive guide to United Kingdom and Scottish public expenditure planning and control. This is published as Chapter 10 (paras 480-551) of the revised Constitutional Law volume (2002) of The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia. [more]
David Heald guest edited a symposium in Public Money & Management (Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2003) on ‘The Global Revolution in Government Accounting’. [more]
David Heald was commissioned by the Northern Ireland Economic Council to write a Report on ‘Funding the Northern Ireland Assembly: Assessing the Options’. This was published on 3 March 2003, and is available here. The Policy Research Brief appears here. Publication was marked by a press conference on 3 March and by a seminar on 13 March.

Writing in Progress

David Heald, together with Professor Charlie Jeffery, Director of the ESRC’s Devolution and Constitutional Change Programme, are editing a special issue of Regional & Federal Studies on comparative experience in fiscal federalism.

Contributions to the Policy Process

David Heald has been appointed as Specialist Adviser to the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons to assist it on matters relating to Estimates and Resource Accounting and Budgeting [more]
David Heald gave oral evidence in Edinburgh on 16 May 2002 to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, chaired by Professor The Lord Norton of Louth. This is part of its inquiry into ‘Devolution: inter-institutional relations in the United Kingdom’. His written evidence concerns financial relationships between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations, including the future of the Barnett formula.
David Heald has been appointed as adviser to the Public Accounts Commission, the statutory body responsible for approving the corporate plan of the National Audit Office and, in the name of whose chairman, the Supply Estimate for the National Audit Office is presented to Parliament.

Visitors to the Centre for Regional Public Finance

Intergovernmental fiscal relations expert from the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada [more]
A grant from the Economic and Social Research Council’s Devolution and Constitutional Change Programme funded visits by academics from Germany and Spain to the Centre in March 2002 [more]

Participation in Seminars and Conferences

Seminar on “Researching England”, University of Birmingham, 26 March 2001 [more]
Symposium of Foreign Experts on “Fiscal Imbalance”, organised by the Quebec Government’s Commission sur le déséquilibre fiscal, 13-14 September 2001 [more]
Glasgow Caledonian University Division of Accounting & Finance Seminar Series, in which David Heald presented a paper on Financing Devolution in Practice
International Seminar on “Accounting, Finance and Management Control in Public Services”, organised by the Open University Business School and held in Milton Keynes on 14 November 2001 [more]
David Heald and Alasdair McLeod presented papers on ‘Fiscal equalisation’ and ‘Revenue raising and tax sharing’ in Birmingham on 18-19 January 2002 [more]
David Heald presented a paper on ‘Fiscal transparency: concepts, measurement and UK practice’ to the Department of Accounting & Finance, University of Manchester, on 27 February 2002.
David Heald presented a paper on ‘Beyond Barnett? Funding Devolution’, at a seminar organised by the Institute of Public Policy Research in Edinburgh on 18 April 2002. A copy of the book chapter based on that paper appears here.
David Heald gave a seminar on ‘Fiscal Transparency: Spending Reviews, VFM and the Barnett Formula’ on 4 October 2002 at the Conference of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Economists Group, held at the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, County Down.
David Heald gave a public lecture (Financing Devolution: What Should Follow Barnett?) on 20 November 2002 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, as part of the series (Has Devolution Delivered?) organised by the David Hume Institute. The slide sequence is on the David Hume Institute website. After the lecture he appeared with Andrew Wilson MSP (Scottish National Party Spokesperson on Economy, Enterprise & Lifelong Learning) on BBC Radio Scotland’s “Politics Tonight”.
David Heald gave a seminar on “Funding the Northern Ireland Assembly” on 12 March 2003 at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ulster, Jordanstown. This drew upon his Report for the Northern Ireland Economic Council, which was published on 3 March. The related Policy Research Brief is available here.
David Heald spoke at a seminar, organised by the Northern Ireland Economic Council and held in Belfast on 13 March 2003, about the findings of his Report on the funding of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The related Policy Research Brief is available here.
David Heald was a discussant at one of the sessions of the Bank of Italy's 5th Workshop on Public Finance, the subject of which was 'Tax Policy'. This Workshop was held in Perugia on 3-5 April 2003.
David Heald will give a paper on "Scotland's Fiscal Relationships with England and the United Kingdom", at the second part ("Present and Future") of the "Union of the Crowns" seminar on 7 November 2003. This event is jointly organised by the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and will take place in Edinburgh. The first part ("Past") will take place in London in September 2003. The overall theme is "England and Scotland in the Union from 1603: Anglo-Scottish Relations - Past, Present, Future".
David Heald will give a keynote paper at the Regional Studies Association's 2003 Annual Conference, the topic of which is "Economic Governance Post-Devolution: Differentiation or Convergence". This will be held in London on Friday 21 November 2003.