Taxing times for big money bairns

A SURVEY out today showing that children in Glasgow top the league of pocket money recipients in Britain will cause widespread concern. As pocket money is still the preserve of the Westminster government, the report may already have been slapped on the tottering pile of matters pending for the new chancellor at HM Treasury.

The Glasgow average of 4.87 a week is 79p a week higher than that for the UK as a whole. This excess could therefore attract the new 50p in the pound tax rate for top earners. Alternatively, other allowances such as TV watching time could be withdrawn and "gifts in kind" subject to HMRC clawback.

Some might argue that Glasgow pocket money should come under Barnett Formula calculations. But, as Barnett may be replaced by a "needs assessment", a full detailed audit of means and circumstances would have to be undertaken.

A less controversial course may be the establishment of the Office of the Pocket Money Regulator, or Offpock for short. All pocket money arrangements would have to be cleared by Offpock and subject to annual inspection. So, means testing or Offpock? This would surely be best determined by a new quango, the Pocket Money Commission, with a brief to draw up a "firm but fair" new targets regime – and of course, a staff of trained enforcers.