Demographic influences on public spending

<p>The Government's public spending plans, outlined in the 1988 Autumn Statement and the 1989 Public Expenditure White Paper, project that total Government expenditure will grow by 1 3/4 percent per annum in real terms over the three years from 1988/89 to 1991/92. As a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Government spending is projected to continue to decline, from 39 3/4 per cent in 1988/89 to 38 3/4 per cent in 1991/92. From the peak level of nearly 47 per cent in 1982/83, the share of GDP taken by Government spending would then have fallen by nearly one fifth in less than a decade.</p>