Public finance bulletin January 2006

<p><h4>Headline Comparisons</h4> </p><p><ul><li><em class="bold">Central government current receipts</em> in December were 7.5% higher than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase over last year's levels of 7.6% for the year as a whole and of 8.0% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 7.1% for the year to date and a 6.1% increase in November and December 2005 over the same two months last year. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current spending</em> in December was 3.2% higher than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase over last year's levels of 5.5% for the year as a whole and of 3.8% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 5.7% for the year to date and a 2.6% increase in November and December 2005 over the same two months last year. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Public sector net investment</em> in December was £1.2bn higher (93.0%) than in the same month last year. Last month's Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase of 31.6% for the year as a whole and an increase of 35.0% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 37.1% for the year to date and a 63.9% increase in November and December 2005 over the same two months last year. </p><p></ul> </p><p></p>