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Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2006-07
20/06/2008
The annual publication Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2006-2007 is published today. This report is the fourteenth in the series of official published estimates of expenditure and revenue balances relating to the public sector in Scotland.
The aim of GERS is to enhance public understanding of fiscal issues in Scotland. GERS is a National Statistics Publication for Scotland.
Since January 2007, a team of Scottish Government officials, comprising both statisticians and economists, have conducted a full and detailed review of the GERS report. Full details of the review are outlined in the report.
The key changes resulting from the review are:
1. An improvement in the quality of data and estimation methodologies for expenditure and revenue (including further consideration of North Sea revenue).
2. Changes to the presentation of GERS data in line with international practice for public sector accounts, including a separation of the current account and net investment.
3. Presentation of key results for three different revenue scenarios:
(i) an estimate excluding UK North Sea revenue,
(ii) an estimate based upon a per capita share of UK North Sea revenue and
(iii) an estimate based upon a geographical share of UK North Sea revenue.
The key points outlined in the report are:
- Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) is a National Statistics publication.
- In this edition of GERS, Scotland's estimated fiscal position is presented under three different scenarios for the allocation of North Sea revenues - excluding, a per capita share and a geographical share.
- In 2006-07, the estimated current budget balance for the public sector in Scotland was a deficit of £6.7 billion (6.4 per cent of Scottish GDP) excluding North Sea revenue, a deficit of £6.0 billion (5.5 per cent of Scottish GDP) including a per capita share of North Sea revenue or a surplus of £0.8 billion (0.7 per cent of Scottish GDP) including an estimated geographical share of North Sea revenue.
- In 2006-07, the estimated fiscal balance in Scotland, that is the estimated current budget balance plus estimated net investment, was a deficit of £10.2 billion (9.7 per cent of Scottish GDP) when excluding North Sea revenue, a deficit of £9.4 billion (8.8 per cent of Scottish GDP) when including a per capita share of North Sea revenue or a deficit of £2.7 billion (2.1 per cent of Scottish GDP) when an estimated geographical share of North Sea revenue is included.
- Total Scottish non-North Sea public sector revenue was estimated at £42.4 billion in 2006-07, equivalent to 8.3 per cent of the comparative total UK non-North Sea public sector revenue.
- Total public sector expenditure for Scotland in 2006-07 was estimated at £49.9 billion, equivalent to 9.5 per cent of total UK public sector expenditure. Approximately 9.2 per cent of Scottish expenditure was capital expenditure.
- 'Identifiable' public sector expenditure for Scotland (i.e. expenditure that can be directly identified as having been spent for the benefit of a country or region within the UK) was estimated at £43.1 billion in 2006-07, equivalent to 9.8 per cent of the corresponding UK total.
- In 2006-07, 'non-identifiable' public sector expenditure was estimated at £6.8 billion, equivalent to 8.2 per cent of the corresponding UK total. Accounting adjustments added £2.7 billion, 10.3 per cent of the UK equivalent total.