Public finance bulletin February 2004

<p><h3>Headline comparisons</h3> </p><p><ul> </p><p> </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current receipts</em> in January were just 3.5% higher than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2003-04 implies an increase over last year's levels of 5.9% for the year as a whole; the latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 5.5% for the year to date. The Pre-Budget Report forecast also implies a 6.8% increase over last year for the period from November 2003 to March 2004; the month's figures show a cumulative increase of 6.1% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p> </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current spending</em> in January was just 2.8% higher than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2003-04 implies an increase over last year's levels of 8.3% for the year as a whole; the latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 8.4% for the year to date. The Pre-Budget Report forecast also implies a 6.7% increase over last year for the period from November 2003 to March 2004; the month's figures show a cumulative increase of 6.1% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p> </p><p><li><em class="bold">Public sector net investment</em> in January was 109.1% higher than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2003-04 implies an increase over last year's levels of 69.3% for the year as a whole; the latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 75.2% for the year to date. The Pre-Budget Report forecast also implies a 68.0% increase over last year for the period from November 2003 to March 2004; the month's figures show a cumulative increase of 80.7% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p></ul></p>