Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2018-2019

Scotland’s net fiscal balance has improved for the third year in a row, according to statistics announced today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Net Fiscal Balance 2018-19

This is the difference between total revenue and total public sector expenditure including capital investment. The net fiscal balance:

• Including an illustrative geographic share of North Sea revenue, was a deficit of £12.6 billion (7.0% of GDP).
• Excluding North Sea revenue, was a deficit of £14.1 billion (8.5% of GDP).
• For the UK, was a deficit of £23.5 billion (1.1% of GDP).

Current Budget Balance 2018-19

This is the difference between total revenue and current expenditure only (i.e. excluding capital investment). The current budget balance:

• Including an illustrative geographic share of North Sea revenue, was a deficit of £7.9 billion (4.4% of GDP).
• Excluding North Sea revenue, was a deficit of £9.4 billion (5.7% of GDP).
• For the UK, was a surplus of £18.1 billion (0.8 per cent of GDP).

Total Public Sector Revenue 2018-19

• Including an illustrative geographic share of North Sea revenue, Scottish public sector revenue was estimated as £62.7 billion (8.0 per cent of UK revenue). Of this, £1.4 billion was North Sea revenue. Scottish non-North Sea revenue was £61.3 billion (7.8% of UK revenue).
• Non-North Sea revenue increased from £58.3 billion in 2017-18, an increase of 5.1%.
• Scotland’s illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue was £1.4 billion in 2018-19, broadly the same level as 2017-18.
• Including an illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue, Scotland’s public sector revenue is equivalent to £11,531 per person, £307 less than the UK average. Excluding North Sea revenue, it is £11,268 per person, £552 less than the UK average.

Total Public Sector Expenditure 2018-19

• Total expenditure for the benefit of Scotland by the Scottish Government, UK Government, and all other parts of the public sector was £75.3 billion, an increase of 2.4%. This is equivalent to 9.3% of total UK public sector expenditure, and £13,854 per person, which is £1,661 per person greater than the UK average.

The figures released today were produced in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Background

The full statistical publication is available at http://www.gov.scot/gers.

The aim of GERS is to enhance public understanding of fiscal issues in Scotland. The primary objective is to estimate a set of public sector accounts for Scotland through detailed analysis of official UK and Scottish Government finance statistics. The report is designed to allow users to understand and analyse Scotland’s fiscal position under different scenarios within the current constitutional framework.

GERS is a National Statistics publication, which means that it is produced independently of Scottish Ministers and has been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority as being produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. This means the statistics have been found to meet user needs, to be methodologically sound, explained well and produced free of political interference.

More information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About