Public finance bulletin: January 2014

Today the Office for National Statistics and HM Treasury published Public Sector Finances December 2013. We now have details of central government receipts, central government spending, public sector net investment, borrowing and debt for the nine months of financial year 2013–14.

Headline Comparisons

• Central government current receipts in December were 3.0% higher than in the same month last year. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published last month, forecast an increase in receipts relative to last year’s levels of 3.6% for the year as a whole and a fall of 1.3% for the period from November 2013 to March 2014 (excluding the impact of transfers related to the Asset Purchase Facility). The latest figures show an increase relative to last year’s level of 4.1% for the year to date, with an increase of 4.0% in November and December compared to the same two months in 2012.

• Central government current spending in December was 2.6% lower than in the same month last year. The OBR’s latest forecast implies an increase relative to last year’s level of 1.9% for the year as a whole and of 1.2% for the period from November 2013 to March 2014. The latest figures show an increase relative to last year’s level of 1.4% for the year to date, with a decrease of 2.2% in November and December compared to the same two months in 2012.
• Public sector net investment in December was £2.5bn, £0.2 billion more than was spent in December 2012. Public sector net investment between April 2013 and December 2013 was £15.5bn, which is 6.6% higher than in the same nine months of 2012 (excluding the impact of the transfer of assets from the Royal Mail Pension Plan to the public sector). The OBR’s latest forecast was that net investment in 2013–14 would be £24.9bn, which is 9.6% above last year’s level (excluding the impact of the transfer of the Royal Mail Pension Plan).