Public finance bulletin: March 2006

<p><h4>Headline Comparisons</h4> </p><p><ul> </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current receipts</em> in February were 5.3% higher than in the same month last year. The December 2005 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase over last year's levels of 7.4% for the year as a whole and of 6.2% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 7.4% for both the year to date and the four month period from November 2005 to February 2006. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Central government current spending</em> in February was 8.3% higher than in the same month last year. The December 2005 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase over last year's levels of 4.9% for the year as a whole and of 3.4% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 5.6% for the year to date and a 5.0% increase in November 2005 to February 2006 over the same four months last year. </p><p><li><em class="bold">Public sector net investment</em> in February was £0.2bn higher (6.8%) than in the same month last year. The December 2005 Pre-Budget Report forecast for 2005-06 implies an increase of 27.2% for the year as a whole and an increase of 3.3% for the period from November 2005 to March 2006. The latest figures show an increase over last year's levels of 41.7% for the year to date and a 23.9% increase in November 2005 to February 2006 over the same four months last year. </p><p></ul></p>