Public finance bulletin February 2005

<p><h3>Headline Comparisons</h3><ul><li><em class="bold">Central government current receipts</em> in January were 12.7% higher than in the same month last year. The December 2004 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2004-05 implies an increase over last year's levels of 7.2% for the year as a whole and of 7.4% for the period from November 2004 to March 2005. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 7.8% in the year to date, and a cumulative increase of 9.4% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current spending</em> in January was 4.9% higher than in the same month last year. The December 2004 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2004-05 implies an increase over last year's levels of 5.2% for the year as a whole and of 2.2% for the period from November 2004 to March 2005. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 6.3% for the year to date, and a cumulative increase of 3.7% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Public sector net investment</em> in January was £2.6bn, or 37.9% higher than in the same month last year. The December 2004 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2004-05 implies an increase of 56.4% for the year as a whole and an increase of 99.0% for the period from November 2004 to March 2005. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 10.0% for the year to date, and a cumulative increase of 22.6% over last year for the three months since the Pre-Budget Report. </p><p></ul></p>