Latest figures Public sector net borrowing was £12.8 billion in September 2012; this is £ 0.7 billion lower net borrowing than in September 2011, when net borrowing was £13.5 billion.

Public sector current budget deficit was £11.2 billion in September 2012; this is a £0.4 billion lower deficit than in September 2011, when there was a deficit of £11.6 billion.

Public sector net debt was £1,065.4 billion at the end of September 2012, equivalent to 67.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

In 2011/12 public sector net borrowing was £121.6 billion; this is £4.4 billion lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasted net borrowing for 2011/12 of £126.0 billion.

Background The statistical bulletin on public sector finances is published jointly by ONS and HM Treasury on a monthly basis and provides the latest available estimates for key public sector finance statistics, such as public sector net borrowing, public sector net debt and public sector current budget deficit/surplus. The bulletin is structured with the latest headline figures and information on recent events and/or methodological changes which impact on the statistics, located at the front of the bulletin. Following this there is some contextual information for users and then more detailed information on each of the key aggregates. Historic data on public sector net debt and public sector net borrowing have been included to put the latest figures in context. Information on revisions since the last publication and more detailed notes on the publication are located towards the back of the bulletin.

Key measures Cumulative public sector net borrowing Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) The table ‘Key Measures of the Public Sector Finances’ presents the latest headline figures for the Public Sector Finances. The table compares the figures for the latest month with the same month a year ago and cumulative figures for the financial year to date compared with the same period in the last financial year. A time series presentation of these same fiscal measures can be found in table PSF1 of this bulletin. Key Measures of the Public Sector (PS) Finances United Kingdom, £ billion2 (not seasonally adjusted) September April – September 2012 2011 Difference 2012/13 2011/12 Difference PS Current Budget3 -11.2 -11.6 0.4 -59.5 -54.0 -5.6 PS Net Investment4 1.6 1.9 -0.3 -22.5 8.4 -30.9 PS Net Borrowing (PSNB ex)5 12.8 13.5 -0.7 37.1 62.4 -25.4 PS Net Debt (PSND ex)6 1,065.4 972.5 92.9 : : : PS Net Debt as a % of annual GDP 67.9 63.6 4.3 : : : Table source: Office for National Statistics Table notes: Excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions Unless otherwise stated Current Budget is the difference between current receipts and current expenditure Net Investment is investment less depreciation Net Borrowing is Current Budget less Net Investment Net Debt is financial liabilities less liquid assets Download table XLS format

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Outturn vs forecast The statistical measures in this bulletin are all defined according to concepts set out in European and International statistical accounting frameworks. The Treasury uses the same measures to set budgets and produce fiscal policy, and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) uses them to forecast and evaluate the public finances. This standardisation in data definitions enables much of the outturn data in this bulletin to be compared directly to corresponding figures in OBR forecasts. The OBR forecast, published in March 2012, for public sector net borrowing in 2011/12 was £126 billion. The latest estimate for public sector net borrowing in 2011/12, as published in this bulletin, is £121.6 billion. The table 'Latest Outturn Estimates and OBR Forecasts' presents the growth rate between 2012/13 data for April to September and the same period in 2011/12. As a comparison the table also shows the forecasted full year growth rate based on the OBR forecast for 2012/13 (published in March 2012) and the latest outturn estimates for 2011/12. As an example, the latest year to date current budget figures are showing a fall of 10.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. The comparable forecast is for a full year fall in current budget of 0.5 per cent between 2011/12 and 2012/13. Comparisons between public sector net investment and net borrowing for the April to September period are affected by the £28 billion transfer received by government from the assets of the Royal Mail Pension Plan in April 2012. This transfer was foreseen by the OBR and they correspondingly included, in their forecast, figures with and without the Royal Mail pension transfer. This is as the size of the transfer is sufficient to significantly affect comparisons between 2011/12 and 2012/13. The table includes public sector net investment and net borrowing figures excluding and including the Royal Mail pension transfer. The figures excluding the Royal Mail pension transfer show that, for the year to date, public sector net borrowing has risen by 4.2 per cent, which compares to a forecasted 1.4 per cent decline for the full year. Caution must be exercised when interpreting the latest in year data with full year forecasts as some data, such as current receipts, show strong seasonal effects. These seasonal variations within the year mean that you would not necessarily expect growth (or decline) over a portion of the year to reflect the growth (or decline) for the full year. Also, allowance should be made for the fact that the outturn estimates for recent periods are provisional and may be subject to sizeable revisions in later months. More information on revisions and their magnitude can be found in the Revisions and Background Notes sections of this bulletin. To assist interpretation of the statistics, each month, on the day of the release of the Public Sector Finances statistical bulletin, the OBR publishes on its website a commentary on the latest figures and how these reflect on their forecasts. There are many reasons why the outturn data in this publication may differ from the OBR forecasts and the OBR commentary provides qualitative information to help users interpret these differences. Latest Outturn Estimates vs OBR Forecasts United Kingdom, £ billion2 (not seasonally adjusted) April – September Forecast vs Outturn Year to Date 2012/13 2011/12 Growth 2012/13 OBR Forecast 2011/12 Outturn Forcasted Growth PS Current Budget (PSCB)3 -59.5 -54.0 -10.3% -95.3 -94.9 -0.5% PS Net Investment (PSNI)4 -22.5 8.4 -366.3% -3.4 26.7 -112.7% PSNI excluding Royal Mail pension transfer 5.5 8.4 -34.7% 24.6 26.7 -7.8% PS Net Borrowing (PSNB ex)5 37.1 62.4 -40.6% 91.9 121.6 -24.4% PSNB ex excluding Royal Mail pension transfer 65.1 62.4 4.2% 119.9 121.6 -1.4% PS Net Debt (PSND ex)6 1,065.4 972.5 9.6% 1,159.0 1,025.4 13.0% PS Net Debt as a % of annual GDP 67.9 63.6 6.8% 71.9 66.2 8.6% Table source: Office for National Statistics Table notes: Excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions; OBR = Office for Budget Responsibility

Unless otherwise stated Current Budget is the difference between current receipts and current expenditure Net Investment is investment less depreciation Net Borrowing is Current Budget less Net Investment

Net Debt is financial liabilities less liquid assets Download table XLS format

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Recent events and methodological changes Public Sector Net Debt As reported last month, a review of the public sector banking groups' impact on public sector net debt highlighted two areas for improvements to the current methodology. The first relates to the consolidation of transactions within the public sector banking group sector and the second relates to the reconciliation between public sector net debt (PSND) and public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSND ex). These improvements have been incorporated into the net debt figures for this month. AS ONS has previously identified (61.8 Kb Pdf) , the gross debt and liquid asset figures for the public sector banking sector have been overstated because asset/liability cross holdings between different parts of public sector banking groups are included within the figures (i.e. the data are not consolidated). Lack of the necessary data prohibits consolidation between banking groups, but it is possible to consolidate for transactions within individual public sector banking groups and this consolidation has been implemented in this bulletin. The revisions extend back to October 2008 which is the date from when the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group were classified as within the public sector. The impact on public sector net debt has been small, with the impact on most recent months being less than £1 billion although the revisions in the first quarter of 2012 are larger with debt at the end of March 2012 revised by £5 billion. There are much larger off-setting revisions of up to £425 billion recorded in the gross debt and liquid assets of the public sector banking groups. There is no impact on the public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions. The other revision to debt effects PSND ex and the reconciliation of PSND and PSND ex. The review identified that not all data sources used to include the effects of financial interventions on net debt were fully aligned with the ONS methodological article (166.8 Kb Pdf) published on the subject. Specifically; The full purchase price of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group was being included as a temporary effect of financial interventions instead of the market value at the point of purchase.

The full payment to Bradford & Bingley as compensation of depositors was being included as a temporary effect of financial interventions instead of only that amount compensated under the auspices of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The amounts paid by public sector banking groups to central government, in fees for schemes such as the credit guarantee scheme and the asset protection scheme, were being included as temporary effects in PSND rather than permanent effects. Implementing the revisions has not had a large impact on the reported PSND ex, but has increased PSND ex at the end of September 2012 by £5.4 billion to £1,065.4 billion. Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) As reported in an ONS news release on 28 September 2012, ONS has reclassified NRAM and B&B plc as central government bodies, with effect from January 2010 and July 2010 respectively. These financial corporations came into public ownership in 2008/9 and prior to their classification in central government were classified as public financial corporations. This classification decision has yet to be implemented in the Public Sector Finances as detailed data, not currently collected, are required to consolidate NRAM and B&B financial accounts and balance sheets within the central government accounts. It is anticipated that the classification will be first implemented in the Public Sector Finances in early 2013. Initial estimates of the impact of the re-classification on general government gross debt were published in the ONS release Government Deficit and Debt under the Maastricht Treaty on 28 September 2012. These estimates were compiled using published company accounts and show an increase in general government gross debt of £37.4 billion at the end of March 2012 and a decrease in general government net borrowing of £740 million in 2011/12. Olympics This bulletin contains initial estimates, within the public corporation net borrowing figures, for the ticketing income of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). As previously reported, in accordance with international accruals guidance, all ticketing income from the Olympic Games is accrued to the time at which the Games took place. The ticketing income is apportioned across July, August and September based on the number of days in those months that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were taking place. LOCOG recorded significant expenditures between July 2012 and September 2012 as well as receiving the accrued ticket income in this period. It is estimated that the overall impact of LOCOG expenditure and revenue on the public corporation net borrowing for July to September will be to lower the net borrowing by approximately half a billion pounds below what it would have been without the Games, reversing the position for April to June where LOCOG’s expenditure exceeded its revenue by approximately the same amount. Public corporations net borrowing Previously, public corporations net borrowing in the bulletin was derived in two different ways depending on the month to which the net borrowing related. Public corporations net borrowing for the most recent month (or months) was estimated from information on public corporations cash deposits and loans. Public corporations net borrowing for earlier months was calculated from estimates of accrued current expenditure, revenue and net investment in a manner consistent with National Accounts. This approach can lead to unintended revisions in public corporations net borrowing when estimates originally arrived at through financial loans / deposit data are updated quarterly to reflect the latest information on accrued expenditure and revenue. Therefore, starting with this bulletin, the quarterly public corporation net borrowing will be estimated using accrued expenditure and revenue data with the financial loans and deposit data used only to profile the monthly net borrowing within quarters. OSCAR HM Treasury has replaced its COINS system for financial reporting with a new Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting (OSCAR) for 2012/13 onwards. This system collects public spending data from central government departments and the devolved administrations. September is the fifth month that the central government spending data for 2012/13 has been produced using this system. Although the data are for the most part of comparable quality to previous years, there are still some initial data and system issues. Resolving these issues may lead to larger than normal revisions in the central government expenditure data reported over the first half of 2012/13. Royal Mail Pension Plan Following Royal Assent for the Postal Services Act, on 13 June 2011 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has transferred assets and liabilities from the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) to a new government run unfunded public sector pension scheme. Under the terms of the Act, the Government assumes both the RMPP pension liabilities, accrued up to March 2012, and the bulk of the RMPP’s assets. These transactions took place in April 2012. More information regarding the transfer can be found on the BIS website. The value of the RMPP assets transferred was £28.0 billion and the value of the transferred liabilities was approximately £38 billion. Under National Accounts rules, the pension liabilities of unfunded pension plans, like those for the Civil Service, are contingent liabilities and are therefore not recorded as liabilities in the National Accounts or Public Sector Finances. However, the transfer of the assets will provide the government finances with a one off boost in the short term, though government expenditure rises over the longer term as it pays out the pensions to retired Royal Mail workers. Guidance on how to record the government assumption of pension liabilities in circumstances like this is explicitly set out in the Eurostat Manual on Government Deficit and Debt chapter on "Payments to government from transfer of pension obligations". Following this guidance, the impact of the transfer of assets has been that: Central government net investment for April 2012 has been reduced by the total value of all the assets (i.e. £28 billion).

Central government net borrowing for April 2012 has been reduced by the total value of all the assets (i.e. £28 billion).

Central government net cash requirement, from April 2012 onwards, has been boosted (i.e. reduced) by that element of the total assets that has been realised as cash during the month.

Central government net debt at the end of April 2012 has been reduced by more than £16 billion due to the value of the cash realised in April 2012 plus the uplifted nominal value of government bonds (i.e. gilts) previously held by the pension fund and transferred to central government. Net debt is reduced by the cash as this is an illiquid asset, while the government bonds impact the debt as once they become government assets they are netted off government liabilities.

Other transferred illiquid assets will only impact on net debt and net cash requirement at the point at which they are sold. Special Liquidity Scheme The Bank of England Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) officially closed at the end of January 2012. On closure the accumulated net profits of the scheme were transferred to the Treasury in April 2012. The net profits amounted to £2.3 billion which has been recorded as a capital grant to Central Government from the Bank of England in April. As part of the winding up of the scheme the SLS has reclaimed the corporation tax paid on its operations. This amounted to £0.7 billion and was repaid to the Bank by HMRC in March depressing recorded tax receipts in that month.

International comparability The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union obliges member states to avoid excessive budgetary deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), annexed to the Maastricht Treaty, defines two criteria and reference values for compliance. These are a deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of three per cent, and a debt to GDP ratio of 60 per cent. EU Member State Governments have to report their actual and planned government deficits, and the levels of their debt, to the European Commission, at the end of March and September each year. The UK publishes a statistical bulletin, at the same time as its data transmission to the European Commission, which provides a summary of the UK general government deficit and debt as defined by the annex to the Maastricht Treaty. The latest bulletin published on 28 September 2012 reports that in 2011/12 the general government deficit (or net borrowing) was 7.7 per cent of GDP, and at the end of March 2012 the general government gross debt was 85.8 per cent of GDP. The definition of general government deficit under the Maastricht Treaty has some minor differences to the definition of general government net borrowing published in this Public Sector Finances statistical bulletin. A reconciliation of the two is available within the Government Deficit and Debt under the Maastricht Treaty statistical bulletin. The definition of debt under the Maastricht Treaty is different to that used in this Public Sector Finances statistical bulletin. The net debt measure reported in this bulletin (and used by the UK Government for budget and forecast purposes) is calculated as the total stock of financial liabilities minus liquid assets. By contrast, the Maastricht debt is a gross debt measure which is calculated as the stock of financial liabilities. The other major difference in the two debt measures is that the Maastricht debt is limited to general government whereas in the public sector finances the principal debt measure is that for the public sector. The UK figures may be compared to those of other EU Member States on the Government Finance Statistics section of the Eurostat website. Eurostat will publish on this website the latest EU and Member State deficit and debt figures on 24 October 2012. A full set of government finance tables provided by the UK to Eurostat as part of the April notification will be published on the ONS website on 23 October 2012.

Background for new users of Public Sector Finances The Public Sector Finances (PSF) statistical bulletin is published jointly by Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Treasury. A note that outlines the joint publication arrangement can be found on the ONS website.The bulletin is produced monthly and provides the latest available estimates for key public sector financial statistics, such as Public Sector Net Borrowing and Public Sector Net Debt. The statistics in this bulletin present the latest figures for what the UK public sector has raised in revenue, spent and invested. The headline statistic is for Public Sector Net Borrowing which is a measure of the amount of money the Government has had to borrow in order to bridge the gap between expenditure and revenue. The other key statistics are Surplus on Current Budget and Public Sector Net Debt. The Surplus on Current Budget is a measure of the amount by which current receipts are greater than current expenditure after allowing for depreciation. Public Sector Net Debt is a measure of how much the UK public sector owes (to UK private sector organisations or overseas institutions) at a point in time. When the Government borrows money or in some other way increases its financial liabilities then it adds to its debt. The statistical measures are all defined according to concepts set out in European and International statistical accounting frameworks. The Treasury uses the same measures to monitor and set fiscal policy, and the OBR uses them to forecast and evaluate the public finances. This standardisation in data definitions enables much of the outturn data in this bulletin to be compared directly to corresponding figures in OBR forecasts. The current government has set targets for fiscal policy based on the Current Budget Surplus and Public Sector Net Debt. These are detailed in the Charter for Budget Responsibility . When making comparisons with OBR forecasts, or interpreting the data for other uses, allowance should be made for the fact that the outturn estimates for recent periods are provisional and may be subject to sizeable revisions in later months. More information on revisions and their magnitude can be found in the Revisions section of this bulletin. Throughout the bulletin comparisons are made of the latest data with that of the same period of the previous year. The reason for this is that many of the expenditure and revenue items within the public sector finances have a “seasonal” pattern to them. For instance tax receipts are typically at their highest in January due to higher receipts than normal in this month from income tax self assessment and quarterly corporation tax. Similarly expenditure on social benefits is typically highest in November due to expenditure in this month for the winter fuel allowance. All monetary values in the bulletin are in terms of ‘current prices’, that is, they represent the price in the period to which the expenditure or revenue relates and are not adjusted for inflation. This bulletin contains statistics which both exclude and include the temporary effects of the financial interventions. More information on the background to these different measures and how they differ methodologically can be found in the section on ‘Excluding and including financial interventions’.

Public sector net borrowing In September 2012 the public sector net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSNB ex), was £12.8 billion, which was £0.7 billion lower than in September 2011 when PSNB ex was £13.5 billion. For the period April to September 2012, the public sector net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSNB ex), was £37.1 billion, which was £25.4 billion lower than in the same period of the previous year, when PSNB ex was £62.4 billion. The April 2012 net borrowing figures include two one-off transactions. The first is a £28 billion transaction to the Government from the transfer of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and the second is a £2.3 billion transaction to the Government from the closure of the Special Liquidity Scheme. For details of these one-off events see the ‘Recent events and methodological changes’ section. If the effect of these two one-off transactions is removed from the public sector net borrowing then PSNB ex in the period April to September 2012 would be £67.4 billion, which would be £4.9 billion higher than in April to September 2011. In 2011/12 the public sector net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of the financial interventions (PSNB ex), was £121.6 billion, which was £20.1 billion lower than in 2010/11, when PSNB ex was £141.7 billion. The £20.1 billion drop in PSNB ex between 2011/12 and 2010/11 is composed of a £11.2 billion reduction in net investment and £9.0 billion reduction in the current budget deficit. Values (as for all figures in this bulletin) are in current prices, i.e. not inflation adjusted. Therefore, the reduction in net borrowing in inflation adjusted prices, or ‘real terms’, between 2011/12 and 2010/11 will be lower. Public sector net borrowing data can be found in the following tables in this bulletin: PSF1 provides time series data for net borrowing measures.

PSF2 provides public sector net borrowing by sector.

PSF7 provides cumulative public sector net borrowing by month back to 2000/01.

PSF9 provides net borrowing measures as a percentage of GDP by financial year back to 1974/75.

PSF10A shows how the public sector net cash requirement reconciles with the public sector net borrowing. Net borrowing can be defined as the difference between total accrued revenue (or receipts) and total accrued expenditure (both current and capital). Net borrowing is an accrued measure which is consolidated (i.e. intra sector transactions are not recorded). During periods when the public sector revenue exceeds its expenditure then the public sector is able to repay some of its debt rather than borrow further. When there is a repayment the public sector net borrowing is shown as a negative.

Net borrowing by sector In the UK the public sector consists of four sub-sectors; central government, local government, non-financial public corporations and financial public corporations (i.e. public sector banking groups). As can be seen in the table ‘Sectoral Breakdown of Public Sector Net Borrowing’, much the largest share of the public sector net borrowing relates to central government transactions. A time series presentation of these same data can be found in table PSF2 of this bulletin. Sectoral Breakdown of Public Sector Net Borrowing United Kingdom, £ billion not seasonally adjusted) September April – September 2012 2011 Difference 2012/13 2011/12 Difference General Government 13.4 13.7 -0.4 38.6 62.8 -24.2 of which Central Government 13.6 13.2 0.3 43.9 69.0 -25.1 Local Government -0.2 0.5 -0.7 -5.4 -6.2 0.8 Non-Financial Public Corporations3 -0.6 -0.2 -0.3 -1.5 -0.4 -1.1 PS Net Borrowing (PSNB ex)1 12.8 13.5 -0.7 37.1 62.4 -25.4 Public Sector Banking Groups -2.1 -2.1 0.0 -9.9 -14.8 4.9 PS Net Borrowing (PSNB)2 10.7 11.4 -0.7 27.1 47.6 -20.5 Table source: Office for National Statistics Table notes: Excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions Including the temporary effects of financial interventions For the purposes of this table the Bank of England data has been subsumed into the Non-Financial Public Corporations data Download table XLS format

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Public sector net debt At the end of September 2012 the public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSND ex) was £1,065.4 billion (67.9 per cent of GDP). This compares to a PSND ex of £972.5 billion (63.6 per cent of GDP) at the end of September 2011. Public sector net debt data can be found in the following tables in this bulletin: PSF1 provides time series data for net debt measures.

PSF6A shows how public sector consolidated gross debt is derived.

PSF6B shows how public sector net debt is derived.

PSF8 net debt (excluding temporary effects of financial interventions) by month back to 1993/94.

PSF9 provides net debt measures by financial year back to 1974/75. Net debt, for the purposes of UK fiscal policy, is defined as total gross financial liabilities less liquid financial assets, where liquid assets are cash and short term assets which can be realised for cash at short notice and without significant loss. These liquid assets mainly comprise foreign exchange reserves and bank deposits. The net debt is a cash measure which is priced at nominal value (i.e. the cost to the issuer at redemption) and consolidated (i.e. intra sector holdings of liabilities/assets are removed). The net cash requirement is, approximately, the flows equivalent of net debt.

Central government receipts, expenditure and net investment The central government accrued data are shown in two tables of this bulletin: PSF3A which compares central government data with that of previous periods.

PSF3B which provides detailed time series data for central government. As public sector net borrowing is largely driven by the central government accounts (see ‘Sectoral Breakdown of Public Sector Net Borrowing’ table) it can be informative to look at the detail of these central government accounts.

Central government current receipts In September 2012, central government accrued current receipts were £42.0 billion, which was £1.5 billion, or 3.7 per cent, higher than in September 2011, when central government current receipts were £40.5 billion. For the period April to September 2012, central government accrued current receipts were £255.5 billion, which was £2.0 billion, or 0.8 per cent, higher than in the same period of the previous year, when central government current receipts were £253.5 billion. As cash receipts are generally accrued back to earlier periods, the first estimate for receipts in a month is by nature provisional, including, as it must, a significant amount of forecast data. Therefore, care must be taken when making inferences based on receipts data for the latest months. Central government current receipts Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) In 2011/12, the central government accrued current receipts were £532.9 billion, which was £21.7 billion, or 4.2 per cent, higher than 2010/11, when central government current receipts were £511.2 billion. A large part of the rise in receipts between 2011/12 and 2010/11 was attributable to a rise in VAT receipts of £12.5 billion. This rise, in large part, reflects the change in the rate from 17.5 to 20 per cent. The 2011/12 combined receipts of income tax and national insurance contributions (recorded as income and capital gains tax and compulsory social contributions) rose by £4.7 billion, or 1.9 per cent, compared to 2010/11. Other taxes rose by £2.4 billion between 2011/12 and 2010/11 due to the Bank Levy which was introduced in July 2011. However, rises in taxes on production were suppressed by the one-off Bank Payroll Tax which only applied in 2010/11, and which raised £3.5 billion, all accrued to April 2010. Central Government receipts follow a strong cyclical pattern over the year, with high receipts in April, July, October and January due to quarterly Corporation Tax returns being accrued to these months. January accrued receipts are particularly high due to receipts from quarterly corporation tax combining with those from income tax self assessment. The revenue raised through income tax self assessment, as well as affecting January receipts, also tends to lead to high receipts in February and, to a lesser degree, March.

Central government current expenditure In September 2012, central government accrued current expenditure was £52.5 billion, which was £1.9 billion, or 3.7 per cent, higher than September 2011, when central government current expenditure was £50.6 billion. For the period April to September 2012, central government accrued current expenditure was £313.6 billion, which was £6.5 billion, or 2.1 per cent, higher than in the same period of the previous year, when central government current expenditure was £307.1 billion. Central government current expenditure (total) Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) In 2011/12, the central government accrued current expenditure was £617.4 billion, which was £11.2 billion, or 1.9 per cent, higher than in 2010/11, when central government current expenditure was £606.2 billion. The rise of £11.2 billion is due to a rise in debt interest payments of £2.5 billion, a rise of net social benefits of £8.2 billion and a rise in other expenditure of £0.5 billion. The accrued debt interest payment rise between 2010/11 and 2011/12 reflected two factors. Firstly, the increase in the number of gilts in issue, as a means to finance the government debt, has increased government interest payments to gilt holders. Secondly, movements in the Retail Prices Index produced increases in the interest paid by government on index linked gilts. As changes in debt interest payments can have a significant effect on government current expenditure trends it can be informative to consider the total central government current expenditure excluding debt interest payments. Changes in this measure largely reflect changes in the total outlay of departments and the devolved administrations. On this basis, the total accrued current expenditure excluding debt interest for 2011/12 was £570.3 billon, which was £8.7 billion, or 1.6 per cent, higher than in 2010/11. Central government current expenditure(excluding debt interest payments) Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) The profile of accrued Central Government expenditure is broadly flat through the year. However, one observable cyclical pattern is that Net Social Benefits in November is higher than in other months due to payments in this month for the winter fuel allowance. A further cyclical trend is that “other” current expenditure tends to be highest at the end of the financial year in March.

Central government net investment In September 2012, central government net investment was £2.4 billion, which was £0.1 billion, or 4.5 percent, lower than in September 2011, when central government net investment was £2.5 billion. For the period April to September 2012, central government net investment was -£18.1 billion, which was £29.7 billion lower than in the same period of the previous year, when central government net investment was £11.6 billion. The April 2012 central government net investment includes two one-off transactions. The first is a £28 billion capital grant to the Government from the transfer of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and the second is a £2.3 billion capital grant to the Government from for the profits of the Special Liquidity Scheme, after its closure. For details of these one-off events see the ‘Recent events and methodological changes’ section. If the effect of these two one-off transactions were to be removed from central government net investment then for the period April to September 2012 the central government net investment would be £12.2 billion, which would be £0.6 billion higher than in April to September 2011. Central government net investment Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) In 2011/12, central government net investment was £22.4 billion, which was £14.9 billion, or 40.0 per cent, lower than in 2010/11, when central government net investment was £37.3 billion. The 2011/12 central government net investment is impacted by the transactions that took place in March 2012 around the abolishment of the Housing Revenue Account. For details of these transactions see the ‘Recent events and methodological changes’ section in the April 2012 statistical bulletin. If the effects of the Housing Revenue Account changes were to be removed from central government net investment then in 2011/12 the net investment would be £30.5 billion, which would be £6.8 billion lower than in 2010/11. Central government net investment not only includes the direct acquisition minus disposal of capital assets (such as buildings, vehicles, computing infrastructure) by central government, but it also includes capital grants to and from the private sector and other parts of the public sector. Capital grants are varied in nature and cover payments made to assist in the acquisition of a capital asset, payments made as a result of the disposal of a capital asset, transfers in ownership of a capital asset and the unreciprocated cancellation of a liability. Central government net investment is difficult to predict in terms of its monthly profile as it includes some large capital grants (such as those to local authorities and education institutions), and can include some large capital acquisitions or disposals, all of which do vary from year to year. One observable trend in the data however is that net investment in the last quarter of the financial year is usually markedly higher than that in the previous three quarters.

Net cash requirement In September 2012, central government net cash requirement (CGNCR) was £22.1 billion, which was £1.0 billion, or 4.2 per cent, lower than in September 2011, when there was a CGNCR of £23.0 billion. For the period April to September 2012, CGNCR was £54.0 billion, which was £17.1 billion, or 24.0 per cent, lower than in the same period of the previous year, when there was a CGNCR of £71.1 billion. A significant part of the drop in CGNCR between April to September 2012 and the same period in the previous year can be attributed to the cash realised in 2012/13 from sales of the assets of the transferred Royal Mail Pension Plan. In 2011/12, the central government net cash requirement (CGNCR) was £126.5 billion, which was £13.1 billion, or 9.4 per cent, lower than in 2010/11, when there was a CGNCR of £139.6 billion. Net cash requirement data can be found in the following tables in this bulletin: PSF4 provides net cash requirement by sector.

PSF5 provides a detailed breakdown of the central government net cash requirement and the cash expenditure and receipts data from which it is derived.

PSF7 provides central government net cash requirement by month back to 2000/01.

PSF10A shows how the public sector net cash requirement reconciles with the public sector net borrowing.

PSF10B shows how the central government net cash requirement reconciles with the central government net borrowing. The net cash requirement is a measure of how much cash in a period the government (or public sector) needs to borrow (or lend) so as to balance its accounts. Historically, when the UK government fiscal policy was on a cash basis rather than the current accruals basis, the net cash requirement was known as the borrowing requirement. Although in UK fiscal policy the net cash requirement has been replaced by the accruals measure of net borrowing, it is still an important measure. The net cash requirement is in essence the flows equivalent of net debt, which is also a cash measure. This means that the changes in net debt between two points in time are (close to being) equal to the net cash requirement for the intervening period. The relationship is not an exact one because the net cash requirement reflects actual prices paid while the net debt is at nominal prices. Although the central government net cash requirement is the largest part of the general government net cash requirement, the public sector net cash requirement can be very different. The reason for this is that the public sector net cash requirement includes the net cash requirement of the public sector banking groups. In recent years, the public sector banking groups have recorded large cash surpluses which have had a substantial impact on the public sector net cash requirement.

Net debt and net borrowing : time series Public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP, 1976/77 to 2011/12 Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb) Since 2001/02 public sector net debt has been increasing. At the end of March 2002, net debt was 30 per cent of GDP then over the next six years, up until 2007/08, the average rate of increase was just over 1 per cent of GDP a year. From 2008 public sector net debt increased sharply, rising from 36 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2008 to 66 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2012. Public sector net debt figures are available back to 1974/75. Historically, public sector net debt has not been constant. It fell from a debt level, pre-1977/78, that was above 50 per cent of GDP to a low of 26 per cent at the end of 1990/91. The public sector net debt then grew again from 1990/91 until it reached a peak of 43 per cent of GDP at the end of 1996/97, before falling back to 30 per cent of GDP by the end of 2001/02. Given the close relationship between net borrowing (a flow measure) and net debt (a stock measure) it is unsurprising to see a historical pattern to public sector net borrowing which complements that of public sector net debt. Monthly public sector net borrowing figures are available back to 1993. Between 1998/99 and 2001/02, when public sector net debt was falling, net borrowing cumulatively over the year was negative (i.e. there was a surplus), but before and after this period the net borrowing was positive (i.e. there was a deficit). Between 2003/04 and 2007/08 net borrowing was fairly static, varying between £33 billion and £41 billion, but with the onset of the financial crisis in late 2007 net borrowing rose sharply to a peak of £159 billion in 2009/10 before falling a little to £142 billion in 2010/11 and then further to £122 billion in 2011/12. Public sector net borrowing, 1993/1994 to 2011/12 Source: Office for National Statistics Download chart XLS format

(236 Kb)

Excluding and including financial interventions Since 2007/08 the Government has made several direct interventions in the UK financial sector as a response to the global financial crisis. As a result of those government interventions some banks and other financial institutions which were previously designated within National Accounts as private companies have been reclassified as public financial corporations. The government interventions and the inclusion of banking groups, such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, within the public sector have had a marked impact on the public sector finances. In recognition of this the 2008 Budget introduced a measure of public sector debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (referred to here as PSND ex). A parallel measure of public sector net borrowing (referred to as PSNB ex) was then introduced in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report. The measures excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions are intended to show the underlying state of the public sector finances without temporary distortions caused by financial interventions, but including any permanent effects from these interventions. The government bases its fiscal policy on these measures. Therefore, the main statistics in this bulletin also follow this approach and exclude the temporary effects of financial interventions. The public sector net debt and net borrowing excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSND ex and PSNB ex respectively) exclude the debt and borrowing of the public sector banking groups as well as that related to schemes such as the Asset Purchase Facility, but include public sector bank transactions with government and government interventions where the money spent is not expected to be recouped. So as to provide a full picture of the public sector finances this bulletin does not limit itself to measures excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions but also contains figures that take account of all the effects of the government financial interventions, including the liabilities and transactions of the public sector banking groups. Table PSF12 of this bulletin provides a reconciliation showing how these measures of Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB) and Public Sector Net Debt (PSND) relate to their corresponding ex measures (i.e PSNB ex and PSND ex). For more detail on the methodological differences between those statistics that exclude and include the temporary effects of the financial interventions a paper entitled Public sector finances excluding financial interventions (166.8 Kb Pdf) , is available on the ONS website.

Statistics including financial interventions The UK Government measures fiscal policy on the basis of public sector finance measures which exclude the temporary effects of financial interventions made by the Government. These interventions began in 2007/08, as a response to the financial crisis, and have resulted in a number of banking groups being brought temporarily into the public sector. This section of the bulletin provides statistics which include the temporary effects of the financial interventions, so as to allow the temporary impact of financial interventions to be monitored and to provide context to the measures which exclude the temporary effects of financial interventions. More information on the background to these different measures and how they methodologically differ can be found in the section on ‘Excluding and including financial interventions’. The 2011/12 public sector net borrowing including the temporary effects of financial interventions is £94.3 billion which is £27.2 billion lower than the equivalent figure excluding the temporary effects of the financial interventions. The lower net borrowing for the measure including the temporary effects of the financial interventions is in large part due to the public sector banking groups, collectively, having a significant current budget surplus rather than a deficit. That is to say, under National Accounts recording rules, the public sector banking groups have an income in current receipts which is greater than their current expenditure. Measures of the Public Sector Finances - including financial interventions United Kingdom, £ billion (not seasonally adjusted) September April – September 2012 2011 Difference 2012/13 2011/12 Difference PS Current Budget3 -9.1 -9.5 0.4 -47.3 -39.0 -8.3 PS Net Investment4 1.6 1.9 -0.3 -20.1 8.7 -28.8 PS Net Borrowing (PSNB)5 10.7 11.4 -0.7 27.1 47.6 -20.5 PS Net Debt (PSND)6 2,157.9 2,234.2 -76.3 : : : PS Net Debt as a % of annual GDP 137.5 146.1 -8.6 : : : Table source: Office for National Statistics Table notes: Including the temporary effects of financial interventions Unless otherwise stated Current Budget is the difference between current receipts and current expenditure Net Investment is investment less depreciation Net Borrowing is Current Budget less Net Investment Net Debt is financial liabilities less liquid assets Download table XLS format

(133.5 Kb) Including the temporary effects of the financial interventions has a large impact on public sector net debt. The public sector net debt including the temporary effects of the financial interventions, at the end of September 2012 was £2,157.9 billion (137.5 per cent of GDP), this compares to a public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions of £1,065.4 billion (67.9 per cent of GDP). The net debt for the measure including any temporary effects of the financial interventions is so much higher than PSND ex as it includes the net debt of the public sector banking groups. Net debt is defined as all financial liabilities minus liquid assets (see ‘Net debt’ section for more background). The public sector banking groups, like most banks, have a significantly greater amount of liabilities than they do liquid assets, and so a high net debt. The net debt for the public sector banking groups (including the debt of the Bank of England schemes, such as the asset purchase facility fund) was estimated to be £1,000 billion at the end of September 2012. This is not to say that the public sector banking groups have this amount of liabilities without any offsetting assets. Banks by the nature of their business have a large amount of their assets in the form of loans which, are recorded as illiquid assets and so, have no impact on the net debt measure. Between September 2011 and September 2012 the public sector net debt reduced by £76.3 billion and fell from 146.1 per cent of GDP to 137.5 per cent. However, sometimes the absolute change in net debt and net debt as a percentage of GDP can be in opposite directions. For instance, public sector net debt rose by £5.9 billion between September 2010 and September 2011, however, the net debt as a percentage of GDP actually fell from 150.6 per cent to 146.1 per cent. The reason for this is that the growth in net debt was outstripped by the growth in GDP (as a rolling 12 month average) over the same period.

Revisions Table PSF12R presents the revisions to key aggregates since last month’s publication. The largest revisions normally occur in the month following first release, when estimated and provisional data are replaced with firmer information. As explained in the ‘Recent events and methodological events’ section there have been two methodological changes to the debt calculations. These methodological changes have led to a small downward revision to public sector net debt (PSND) at the end of August 2012 of £0.1 billion and an upward revision to public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSND ex) at the end of August 2012 of £5.3 billion. The PSND revisions extend back to October 2008 and are larger in some months than others, but even the largest revision (a downward revision of £4.9 billion) is only 0.2 per cent of the total PSND. These revisions to PSND are driven by the consolidation of intra-group debt holdings within the public sector banking groups which has resulted in large off-setting revisions to the gross debt and liquid assets of the public sector banking groups. The same intra-group consolidation has led to revisions to the public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR). As with PSND the size of revisions to PSNCR do vary with: 2010/11 PSNCR revised up by £0.2 billion.

2011/12 PSNCR revised down by £4.9 billion.

April to August 2012 PSNCR revised down by £4.6 billion. Public sector net debt excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSND ex) has been revised back to September 2008. PSND ex has been revised upward in all months with: PSND ex at the end of December 2011 revised up by £5.8 billion.

PSND ex at the end of December 2010 revised up by £7.2 billion.

PSND ex at the end of December 2009 revised up by £9.4 billion.

PSND ex at the end of December 2008 revised up by £10.0 billion. These revisions range between 0.6 per cent (at the end of 2011) and 1.7 per cent of PSND ex (at the end of 2008). Public sector net borrowing excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions (PSNB ex) has been revised down for the period April 2012 to August 2012 by £6.7 billion and up in 2011/12 by £2.3 billion. There are no earlier revisions to PSNB ex. The PSNB ex revisions for 2012/13 are composed of A revision of £3.4 billion to central government net borrowing.

A revision of £0.2 billion to local government net borrowing.

A revision of £3.2 billion to public corporation net borrowing. All revisions are downwards. The central government largely reflect revisions to current and capital expenditure data supplied by departments. The public corporation net borrowing has been revised by £2.3 billion following a correction to the gross operating surplus which was incorrectly reported last month. The remaining £0.9 billion revision is in large part due to the methodological change implemented this month to use forecasted expenditure and income data for in-year estimates of monthly public corporation net borrowing rather than using bank deposit and loans data. For more information see ‘Recent events and methodological events’ secton. The PSNB ex revisions for 2011/12 are composed of: A downward revision of £0.1 billion to central government net borrowing.

An upward revision of £0.9 billion to local government net borrowing.

An upward revision of £1.4 billion to public corporations net borrowing. The revision to local government net borrowing reflects revised capital expenditure data and the revision to public corporation net borrowing revised data for Transport Trading Limited.

List of tables in this bulletin Public Sector Finances Tables PSF1 Public Sector Summary Balances

PSF2 Public Sector Net Borrowing: by sector

PSF3A Central Government Account: 2011/12

PSF3B Central Government Account: time series

PSF4 Public Sector Net Cash Requirement

PSF5 Central Government Net Cash Requirement on own account (receipts and outlays on a cash basis)

PSF6A Public Sector Consolidated Gross Debt (nominal values at end of period)

PSF6B Public Sector Net Debt (nominal values at end of period)

PSF7 Public Sector Finances: Current Budget, Net Borrowing and Net Cash Requirement

PSF8 Public Sector Finances: Net debt (excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions)

PSF9 Long Run of Fiscal Indicators as a percentage of GDP

PSF10A Reconciliation of Public Sector Net Borrowing and Net Cash Requirement

PSF10B Reconciliation of Central Government Net Borrowing and Net Cash Requirement

PSF11A Reconciliation of PSNB and PSNB ex

PSF11B Reconciliation of PSND and PSND ex

PSF12R Public Sector Statistics: revisions since last publication

Background notes Data quality A summary quality report (201.4 Kb Pdf) for the public sector finances is available on the ONS website. This report describes in detail the intended uses of the statistics presented in this publication, their general quality and the methods used to produce them. An overview note on the data sources used within public sector finances and the quality assurance processes that are undertaken in compiling the statistical release was published on the ONS website on 19 October 2012. Publication of data for all public sector banking groups and the Bank of England Data for the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group were fully incorporated into the public sector finances for the first time in the statistical bulletin published on 25 January 2011. Prior to this data for public sector banking groups related only to Northern Rock plc, Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc, and Bradford and Bingley plc. An article providing commentary on inputs to the public sector banks series, the sources of the data, processing methodologies, and the impacts on key aggregates is available from the ONS website (166.8 Kb Pdf) . Following the sale of Northern Rock plc to Virgin Money Holdings (UK) Ltd on 1 January 2012, Northern Rock plc has moved out of the public sector. Therefore, Northern Rock plc is not included in the data for public sector banking groups from January 2012 onwards. Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc and Bradford & Bingley have been reclassified from public financial corporations to central government with effect from January 2010 and July 2010 respectively. This reclassification has yet to be implemented in this public sector finances bulletin and so these financial corporations continue to be recorded within the public sector banking groups sector. The Bank of England is also classified to the public sector. Data for the Bank have been presented separately in the PSF statistical bulletin (see tables PSF2 and PSF4) commencing with the publication dated 25 January 2011. The data are ONS estimates derived from the Bank's published accounts. Prior to the January 2011 publication, data for the Bank were included within series for public corporations in the public sector finances. Classification issues concerning financial interventions There have been numerous financial interventions in recent years. These are described in an article that was published on 6 November 2009. The article also explains the classification of the institutions and transactions associated with these measures in the UK's National Accounts and Public Sector Finances. This follows consultation with Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, to ensure consistent interpretation of the international guidance. Definitions A methodology guide (360.3 Kb Pdf) to monthly public sector finance statistics is available on the ONS website. It explains the concepts and measurement of the monthly data, plus those previously published, and gives some long runs of historical data. The following background notes provide further information regarding the monthly data. The current budget is defined as net saving plus receipts of capital taxes, using National Accounts concepts as set out in the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). For central and local government, monthly estimates of the current budget are obtained directly from data on transactions in current receipts and expenditures. For public corporations, the current budget is obtained by subtracting net borrowing from an estimate of net investment. Net borrowing is consistent with the definitions in ESA95; procedures for calculating it are discussed in the methodological guide. Net investment is defined as investment less depreciation. Investment is capital formation (acquisition of fixed assets, stocks and valuables net of any sales) plus net payments of capital grants. Public sector net debt (PSND) is calculated as financial liabilities less liquid assets with both scored at face value. Liquid assets mainly comprise foreign exchange reserves and bank deposits. Public sector holdings of public sector debt are consolidated out. The public sector net cash requirement is, approximately, the flows equivalent of PSND. The GDP figure used in the denominator for the calculation of fiscal aggregates as a percentage of GDP is the ‘not seasonally adjusted’ current price version. For the net debt ratio, the GDP denominator covers the 12 months centred around the observation, for example six months before and six months after it. For the current budget and net borrowing financial year ratios, the GDP denominator covers the financial year. These calculations require estimates or forecasts of GDP to be available for up to six months in the future. This estimation procedure is explained in detail in an article, The use of GDP in fiscal ratio statistics (70.8 Kb Pdf) . The use of GDP in fiscal ratio statistics, available from the ONS website. As a result of this estimation procedure the debt ratio is provisional when first published and subject to later revision when outturn GDP first becomes available, and again when more refined estimates of GDP are published. Relevance to users Forecasts of The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are quoted within this statistical bulletin. The OBR was established in May 2010, and placed on a permanent, statutory footing in March 2011. As set out in the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, the OBR has a duty to prepare fiscal and economic forecasts twice each year. The Government has adopted the OBR’s forecasts as official forecasts used to inform policy decisions. The Charter for Budget Responsibility sets out the Government’s intention to continue this practice. The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) conducted an assessment of the Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin in 2011 to ensure that the bulletin and its compilation methods fully comply with all requirements of the National Statistics Code of Practice. A report of their findings was published on 3 November 2011. A brief paper explaining the roles and responsibilities of ONS and HM Treasury when producing and publishing the public sector finances statistical release was published on the ONS website on 26 June 2012. A note on the main uses and users of the public sector finances statistics was published on the ONS website on 21 September 2012. As part of our continuous engagement strategy, we welcome comments on how else we might improve the Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin. If you have recommendations for the improvement of the Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin, please email them to psa@ons.gsi.gov.uk or see the contact details below. Coherence The Public Sector Finances (PSF) differ from other National Accounts data in that they have a more flexible revisions policy. This means that the PSF data may be inconsistent with the published GDP data and sector and financial accounts, as a revision may not be incorporated into the main National Accounts data set until a later date due to the more restrictive revisions policy. General government net borrowing reported in this bulletin forms the basis of the reports of Government Deficit under the Maastricht Treaty. This was most recently reported on 28 September 2012. The definition of general government net borrowing to be reported for the European Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) is slightly different to that used for National Accounts. ONS publishes a biannual bulletin which presents the general government net borrowing and general government gross debt data as required by the EDP. This bulletin on General Government Debt and Deficit under the Maastricht Treaty includes a table which reconciles the EDP defined general government net borrowing and that published here in the Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin. Tax receipts data published in this bulletin are presented in terms of broad tax categories (e.g. Income Tax, VAT). For more detail on individual taxes users can go to the HM Revenue & Customs website and access a monthly publication which provides cash tax receipts data which are entirely consistent with the data published in Table PSF5 of the bulletin. Data from HM Treasury’s COINS database underlie the Central Government expenditure figures provided in this publication up to March 2012 and those from April 2012 onwards are, as explained earlier in the bulletin, sourced from the OSCAR database. In June 2010, HM Treasury released into the public domain, as part of the Government transparency agenda, raw data from the COINS database for the years 2005/06 to 2009/10. It was subsequently announced that annual updates to this raw data would be released in September. The latest outturn data for 2011/12 and updates to the four preceding years will be released alongside today's Public Sector Finances. In-year quarterly data are also published by HM Treasury,with the latest quarterly release, the first data from OSCAR, published on 21 September 2012. The data are accessible from HM Treasury's website. The public sector finances bulletin is produced in partnership with HM Treasury (HMT). Further supporting information on public sector finances can be found on HMT's website. In addition, a range of public finance data are available from HMT’s Public Finances Databank. Accuracy Central government departmental expenditure data are subject to various validation processes and improve over time. They go through four main stages: Stage 1 – initially, they are estimated using in-year reported data; Stage 2 – in the July following the completion of the financial year, departments update their full financial year estimates (but with no in-year profile), for publication in the Treasury’s Public Spending National Statistics annual publication. These estimates will be in line with the audited resource accounts for most departments; Stage 3 – for the autumn update of the Treasury’s Public Spending National Statistics these financial year estimates are updated; Stage 4 – in February the following year the winter update of the Treasury’s Public Spending National Statistics is published and the financial year estimates are further improved. All departments’ and devolved administrations’ accounts will have been audited and finalised by this stage. Data for 2009/10 and 2010/11 are at stage 4. Data for 2011/12 are at stage 2 and 2012/13 are at stage 1. The local government data for 2009/10 and 2010/11 for local authorities are based on final outturns for receipts and expenditure. Data for 2011/12 and 2012/13 are based on either provisional estimates or forecasts and are subject to revisions when final outturn data become available. Before January 2012, local government net borrowing in the bulletin was derived in two different ways depending on the month to which the net borrowing related. Local government net borrowing for the most recent month (or months) was estimated from information on local government cash deposits and loans. Local government net borrowing for earlier months was calculated from estimates of accrued current expenditure, revenue and net investment in a manner consistent with National Accounts. On occasions, this approach led to significant revisions (upwards and downwards) in local government data when estimates originally arrived at through financial loans / deposit data were updated quarterly to reflect the latest information on accrued expenditure and revenue. These revisions in local government data were unhelpful when trying to capture the latest position of public sector borrowing. A development which is expected to reduce the size of these data revisions and improve the reliability of in-year local government data is the new quarterly data being collected by the Department for Communities and Local Government via their Quarterly Revenue Outturn. These data, first collected during 2011/12, provide quarterly updates for the main aspects of local government accrued current expenditure. The Public Sector Finances bulletin has used these data, since January 2012, to estimate the local government net borrowing consistently for all time periods from accrued current expenditure, revenue and net investment data. Revisions Currently data for the public sector banking groups are only available for periods up to June 2012. Values for months from July 2012 onwards are ONS estimates. Consequently these, and the aggregates which include the impacts of financial interventions, may be revised substantially when new data become available. One indication of the reliability of the key indicators in this bulletin can be obtained by monitoring the size of revisions. Previously, analyses of revisions to the wider measures of public sector current budget, net borrowing, and net debt that include the impacts of financial interventions were presented in this bulletin. The sizeable revisions resulting from the replacement of imputed data by hard data for the public sector banking groups has meant that these revisions have become more prone to be statistically significant when tested. Given that the primary focus of users is on the ex-measures, it would be preferable to analyse and present revisions of these in the bulletin. As yet sufficiently long monthly time series are not available for the ex-measures to enable standard revisions analysis to be conducted on them. Summary table of revision indicators Latest monthly value Revisions between first publication and estimate twelve months later Average over the last five years Average over the last five years (average absolute revision) General Government Net borrowing, £m (-NNBK) 13,393 -833 1,536 Download table XLS format

(26 Kb) As general government net borrowing is quite close in terms of coverage to PSNB ex, it will in the interim be the subject of revisions analysis. The table shows summary information on the size and direction of revisions from first publication to one year later. The average of five years worth of such revisions is shown; for example – from those first published in June 2006 (for May 2006 to May 2011) first estimates. Please note that these indicators only report summary measures for revisions, the revised data may still be subject to measurement error. A statistical test is applied to the average revision to determine whether it is statistically significantly different from zero. An asterisk (*) is used to indicate if a mean revision has been found to be statistically significant. A spreadsheet giving these estimates and the calculations behind the averages in the tables is available on the ONS website in the data section for this statistical bulletin. Publication policy Complete runs of series in this bulletin are available to download free of charge here. An electronic dataset is made available one working day after publication of the Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin. The dataset contains quarterly data consistent with the latest Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin, analysed by economic category and subsector. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the Media Relations Office.



National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. Special arrangements apply to the Public Sector Finances, which is produced jointly with HM Treasury. A list of ministers and officials with pre publication access (31.7 Kb Pdf) to the contents of this bulletin is available on request. In addition some members of the Treasury’s Fiscal Statistics and Policy (FSP) team will have access to them at all stages, because they are involved in the compilation or quality assurance of the data, and some members of the Treasury’s Communications team will see the bulletin, but only within the 24 hour pre-release period, because they place the data on the website. Public sector finances data which supplement and extend the data provided in this bulletin have been available via the ONS Financial Statistics publication. However, publication of the Financial Statistics publication has ceased, with the last edition published on 12 July 2011. Some public sector finance data series previously published in Financial Statistics are not available elsewhere. Data series in this category are found in the Financial Statistics tables 1.2A, 1.3A, 1.3B, 1.3C, 1.3D and 1.4A. Therefore, these tables will continue to be made available for download on the Public Sector Finances web page. Tables 1.2A, 1.3A and 1.4A which are updated monthly will continue to be available monthly, published concurrently with the PSF Supplementary data, while Tables 1.3B, 1.3C and 1.3D will be available quarterly. Following ONS Follow ONS on Twitter and Facebook statisticsons Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available by visiting www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html or from the Media Relations Office email: media.relations@ons.gsi.gov.uk These National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.