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Debt

Answer

Historical data on Public Sector Net Debt (PSND) is set out in Appendix A, tab psf9 of the latest public sector finances statistical bulletin, available on the Office of National Statistics website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%.3A77-318927 and also seen in the Annex below. The average PSND in the 30 years to 2007-08 is 37.9 percent of GDP.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing the official economic and fiscal forecasts in the UK. In the latest March 2014 Economic and Fiscal outlook, PSND for each fiscal year in the forecast period can be found in Table 1.4 available at:

http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-march-2014/ and also seen in the Annex below. The government has set a supplementary target for PSND as a percentage of GDP to be falling at a fix date of 2015-16. The OBR forecast that PSND as a percentage of GDP will be falling in 2016-17, a year later than set out in the target but one year earlier and 6.7 percentage points of GDP lower than in Budget 2013.

Annex PSND figures

PSND (% GDP)

1977-78

49.1

1978-79

47.2

1979-80

44.0

1980-81

46.1

1981-82

46.1

1982-83

44.8

1983-84

45.1

1984-85

45.1

1985-86

43.2

1986-87

40.9

1987-88

36.6

1988-89

30.4

1989-90

27.5

1990-91

26.0

1991-92

27.2

1992-93

31.4

1993-94

36.5

1994-95

40.1

Outturn

1995-96

41.9

1996-97

42.1

1997-98

40.9

1998-99

38.6

1999-00

35.7

2000-01

30.9

2001-02

30.4

2002-03

31.4

2003-04

32.9

2004-05

34.3

2005-06

35.4

2006-07

36.0

2007-08

36.8

2008-09

44.6

2009-10

56.4

2010-11

65.9

2011-12

70.9

2012-13

73.8

2013-14

74.5

2014-15

77.3

2015-16

78.7

Forecast

2016-17

78.3

2017-18

76.5

2018-19

74.2

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL6311; 753 cc218-9WA

Session

2013-14

Subjects

National income Public sector debt

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk