Scotland Had A Deficit Of 8.6% Of GDP £15.1 Billion In 2019-20

27th August 2020

Net Fiscal Balance 2019-20 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 8.6% of GDP (£15.1 billion). Excluding North Sea revenue, was a deficit of 9.4% of GDP (£15.9 billion). For the UK, was a deficit of 2.5% of GDP.

Current Budget Balance 2019-20 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 6.8% of GDP (£11.9 billion). Excluding North Sea revenue, was a deficit of 7.5% of GDP (£12.7 billion). For the UK, was a deficit of 0.4% of GDP.

Total Public Sector Revenue 2019-20 Including an illustrative geographic share of North Sea, Scottish public sector revenue was estimated as £65.9 billion (8.0 per cent of UK revenue). Of this, £0.7 billion was North Sea revenue. Scottish non-North Sea revenue was £65.2 billion (7.9% of UK revenue). Non-North Sea revenue increased from £64.1 billion in 2018-19, an increase of 1.7%. Scotland's illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue was £0.7 billion in 2019-20, down from £1.4 billion in 2018-19. Including an illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue, Scotland's public sector revenue is equivalent to £12,058 per person, £308 less than the UK average. Excluding North Sea revenue, it is £11,926 per person, £431 less than the UK average.

Total Public Sector Expenditure 2019-20 Total expenditure for the benefit of Scotland by the Scottish Government, UK Government, and all other parts of the public sector was £81.0 billion, an increase of 3.1%. This is equivalent to 9.2% of total UK public sector expenditure, or £14,829 per person, which is £1,633 per person greater than the UK average.

Revisions in GERS 2019-20 There have been a number of revisions in this year's editions of GERS, in particular relating to the recording of student loans and public sector pensions. These changes have increased both revenue and expenditure in all years, with the overall effect being an increase in the net fiscal balance.

Background

The aim of Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (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 under the current constitutional arrangements 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. Official statistics are produced in accordance with professional standards - more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/statistics/