Public finance bulletin: June 2006

<p>Today the Office for National Statistics and HM Treasury published Public Sector Finances May 2006. We now have details of central government receipts, central government spending, public sector net investment, borrowing and debt for the first two months of financial year 2006-07.</p> </p><p> </p><p><h4>Headline Comparisons</h4> </p><p> </p><p><ul> <li><em class="bold"> Central government current receipts </em> in May were 5.8% higher than in the same month last year. Receipts in April and May 2006 were 3.8% higher than in the same months of 2005. The 2006 Budget implied that central government current receipts for the whole of 2006-07 would be 6.4% above 2005-06 levels.</li> </p><p> </p><p><li><em class="bold"> Central government current spending </em> in May was 3.1% higher than in the same month last year. Spending in April and May 2006 was 7.1% higher than in the same months of 2005. The 2006 Budget implied that central government current spending for the whole of 2006-07 would be 5.3% above 2005-06 levels.</li> </p><p>?<li><em class="bold"> Public sector net investment </em> in May was £1.4bn, or 22.4% lower, than in the same month last year. Together, public sector net investment during April and May 2006 has been £3.1bn, which is 18.6% higher than in the same two months of 2005. The Budget predicted that net investment in 2006-07 would be £28.8bn, which is 4.6% above last year's level. </p><p></li></p>