The Treasury told us the balance between formula and competitive funding should be different for different areas of government activity, giving levelling up and social care as examples of areas where formula funding should predominate. In contrast, the Treasury felt that net zero is an area where it is the right thing to have a competitive process as it can lead to better outcomes for taxpayers by, for example, ensuring that funding flows to the locations and projects where the most carbon will be saved.109 Operating net zero funding in this way led to significant disparities in grant funding per person across different council areas, with some receiving over £50 per person in 2020–21 and others receiving less than £12.50 per person.110 102 HM Treasury, Autumn budget and Spending Review 2021, 27 October 2021; (LGA/LFS0002) 103 Local Government Association, Fragmented funding: the complex local authority funding landscape, October