 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland |
SECTION 6: SUMMARY OF AGGREGATE PUBLIC EXPENDITURE |
|||||
| This section draws together the findings of Section 3-5. Table 8 summarises Scottish and UK GGE in 1996-97 by the three component parts: identifiable, non-identifiable and other expenditure. A longer run of these figures for Scotland, from 1992-93 to 1996-97, is shown in Appendix D. | |||||
GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE IN THE UK |
|||||
| In 1996-97, UK GGE (excluding privatisation proceeds) was around £314.9 billion, or 413/4 per cent of GDP. Trends in the UK GGE to GDP ratio were discussed in Section 2 above. | |||||
GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE IN SCOTLAND |
|||||
| The measurement of GGE for individual regions or countries cannot be carried out with the same precision as that for the UK as a whole. On the basis of the assumptions and methodology described in this report and outlined in detail in Appendix A, GGE (excluding privatisation proceeds) for Scotland in 1996-97 is estimated at £31.8 billion. Around £24.7 billion of this was identifiable expenditure. Non-identifiable expenditure was £3.1 billion and other expenditure was £4.0 billion. | |||||
| Scotland's share of UK non-identifiable expenditure (8.7 per cent) matches its population share. Higher shares were recorded for both identifiable expenditure (10.4 per cent) and other expenditure (9.7 per cent). Overall, the Scottish share of total UK GGE (excluding privatisation proceeds) in 1996-97 is estimated to be 10.1 per cent. This is over one percentage point above the Scottish share of the UK population. | |||||
| The estimated Scottish figure for aggregate GGE is approximately 49 per cent of Scottish GDP in 1996-97. This is around 7 percentage points higher than the equivalent UK share. | |||||
| Some caution is required in comparing the estimates of government expenditure with the corresponding figures published in previous editions of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland. In particular, as noted in Section 3 above, apparent changes in identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure over time may be due to the transfer of particular items between the two expenditure categories. Thus, for the 1996-97 public expenditure data by country and region, the coverage of the Treasury exercise was extended significantly, resulting in improvements in the detail and quantity of the information collected. In particular, the historical estimates of identifiable expenditure have been revised upwards. | |||||
| The examination of the most recent information, which is on a consistent basis, for the five-year period from 1992-93 to 1996-97 reveals that the movement of the total Scottish GGE to GDP ratio has mirrored that of the UK ratio. Both rose during the last recession, reaching a peak in 1992-93. Both ratios then fell in 1993-94, 1994-95, and 1995-96. Further reductions in the ratios were recorded both for Scotland and for the UK in 1996-97. The Scottish ratio has maintained a positive differential of between 7 and 71/2 percentage points over the five-year period. The trends in the ratios are shown in Figure 3. | |||||
| Figure 3: General Government Expenditure (excluding privatisation proceeds) as a per cent of money GDP | |||||
 |
|||||
| Sources: HM Treasury and The Scottish Office. | |||||
| Table 8. General government expenditure in Scotland and the UK 1996-97 | |||||
Scotland |
United Kingdom |
||||
£ billion |
% share (3) |
£ billion |
% share (3) |
Scotland as a |
|
| i. Identifiable of which: | 24.7 |
77.8 |
238.1 |
75.6 |
10.4 |
| Scottish Office (1) | 14.9 |
46.9 |
- |
- |
- |
| Social Security | 9.1 |
28.7 |
96.1 |
30.5 |
- |
| ii. Non-identifiable (estimated) | 3.1 |
9.7 |
35.4 |
11.2 |
8.7 |
| iii. Other (estimated) of which: | 4.0 |
12.5 |
41.4 |
13.1 |
9.7 |
| Debt interest | 2.5 |
7.8 |
27.1 |
8.6 |
- |
| TOTAL GGE (excluding privatisation proceeds) (2) | 31.8 |
100.0 |
314.9 |
100.0 |
10.1 |
| Privatisation proceeds | -0.4 |
- |
-4.4 |
- |
8.6 |
| TOTAL GGE (including privatisation proceeds) | 31.4 |
- |
310.4 |
- |
10.1 |
| Population (1996) | - |
- |
- |
- |
8.7 |
| GDP (1996) | - |
- |
- |
- |
8.6 |
| Notes: 1. Includes associated Departments such as the General Register Office for Scotland, the Scottish Record Office, the Register of Scotland, and the Scottish Courts Administration. | |||||
| 2. Figures and percentages may not add up to totals due to rounding. | |||||
| 3. Excluding privatisation proceeds. | |||||
| Sources: UK figures from Section 7 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1998-99 and HM Treasury. Scottish identifiable expenditure figures from the same publication. Non-identifiable and other expenditure figures are Scottish Office estimates. | |||||
| GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE PER HEAD IN SCOTLAND RELATIVE TO THE UK | |||||
| Section 3 provided estimates of identifiable expenditure per head in Scotland relative to the UK. However, to gain a complete picture of relative GGE amounts, it is necessary to incorporate non-identifiable and other expenditure into the calculations. Aggregate GGE (excluding privatisation proceeds) per head in Scotland is estimated at £6,205 in 1996-97. This is around 16 per cent higher than the equivalent UK figure of £5,355 per head. | |||||
|
|
|