Government spending in the United Kingdom

Central government spending in the United Kingdom, also called public expenditure, is the responsibility of the UK government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. In the financial year 2015-16, total government spending was £772 billion.

Spending per head is significantly higher in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland than it is in England. In the case of Scotland, however, although public spending is greater than the United Kingdom average, this is because Scotland has historically produced more tax than people in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, although following a decline in the oil price in 2014, Scotland produced slightly less revenue than England per capita in 2014-15. As of 2014 and the release of the GERS report, Scotland had a higher deficit relative to the UK deficit as a whole and received an increased net subsidy from UK government borrowing, this deficit was attributed to declining oil revenues as the price of crude oil has fallen. This condition is predicted to only get worse should oil revenues fall further.

The graph shows spending by sector with prices adjusted for inflation. The Other Expenditure includes general public services (£22bn in 2013/14), Housing and community amenities (£12bn), Environment protection (£12bn), Recreation, culture and religion (£12bn). Accounting adjustments of £46 in 2013/14 have not been included. The spikes in 'Economic Affairs' and 'Debt Interest' were due to the financial sector interventions in the banking collapse of 2008.