The difficulties encountered in forecasting social security expenditure (significantly underpredicted for much of the 1980s) have long been a source of concern-not least to officials in the DSS.
Recent UK economic history has been characterised by high levels of unemployment, coupled with a high nominal Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (PSBR).
Much interest has recently been expressed in the scope and growth of the black economy, and several estimates of its size have been presented, which invariably receive wide coverage in the press and elsewhere