Where your money goes: the definitive atlas of UK government spending
Border control £1.46bn
Department
for Business,
Enterprise &
Regulatory
Reform
Cutting crime £0.411bn
Salaries
Rest of department £0.237bn
Policing
£6.7bn
£11.5bn
Anti-terror £0.219bn
Army
Identity & Passport Service
£9.6bn (10)
£8.3bn
Navy
BBC World Service £0.265bn
Foreign and
Commonwealth £2.1bn
(7)
Office
Royal Air Force
£1.9n
£7.6n
British Council £0.196bn
Subscriptions to UN & other bodies £0.130bn
Global opportunities fund £0.079bn
Other
programmes Scholarships
£0.024bn £0.028bn
Other
environmental
protection
Charity Commission
for England & Wales
£3.9bn (4) £0.3bn Animal health & welfare
Department for
Environment,
Food & Rural
Forestry
Affairs
Commission
£0.033bn
£0.1bn
£35.6bn
£3bn
Balkans £0.026bn
African
operations World
£0.025bn operations
Community
health
services
(11)
Department of Health
£105.7bn
£0.020bn
£5.6bn
(6)
£2bn
Wales
Office
Enterprise
Local
government
£6bn
£1.2bn
Social Justice &
regeneration
£0.642bn
£4bn
As the party conference season gets underway and public spending again
goes under the spotlight, The Guardian and the Institute for Fiscal Studies
present the ultimate guide to how central government spends our money.
From hospital beds to missiles, this is what happens to your taxes
£0.346bn
Health &
Social
services
Independent bodies
£1.6bn (14)
Devolved
spending
Wales
£5.5bn
£6.6bn
Rural affairs
£0.147bn
Personal
social
services
£0.134bn
£0.009bn
National School
of Government
Department for Children,
Schools and Families
£60.9bn
£0.170bn
State pensions
£57.6bn
General schools' spending
£31.7bn
Office for National
Statistics (ONS)
Schools
£0.159bn
£41.2bn
(3)
£4.0bn
£2.0bn
£0.3bn
Other
Department for Work
and Pensions
Housing benefit
£15.6bn
£137.7bn
£1.8bn
Children &
families
Other spending
£1.2bn
on services for
children & families
(5)
Disability
benefit
£29.9bn
£125.3bn
Income
support
£2.9bn
£7.7bn
£2.8bn
HM Crown Prosecution
Service Inspectorate
£0.004bn
£5.8bn
£0.036bn
Pension
credit
£1.990bn
Incapacity
benefit
£6.6bn
£2.1bn
Winter
fuel
payments
£0.5bn
£1.9bn
£1.5bn
Over-75s
TV licences
Statutory
Jobseeker’s maternity
allowance pay
Ministry
of Justice
Public
prisons
£9.4bn
£1.809bn
£1.673bn
Private prisons
Learning & Skills
Council (excluding
sixth form funding)
£1.214bn
£19.5bn (9)
Northern
Ireland
Office
Prisons £0.142bn
Compensation agency £0.048bn
£1.55bn Criminal justice £0.047bn
Public Prosecution service £0.037bn
Youth Justice Agency £0.022bn
Bloody Sunday inquiry £0.005bn
Attorney
General's Office
Electoral Commission
£0.022bn
£4.7bn
Learning &
Skills Council
Department for
Innovation,
Universities & Skills
£21.5bn
Office of Communications
(Ofcomm)
£0.081bn (13)
Government
Actuary's
Department
£0.424bn
Health,
Social
Services
Research
councils
£3.0bn
£1.0bn
Student
grants
£0.479bn
Other spending on
further education
£3.8bn
£1.59bn
£1.7bn
Education
Office for the Third Sector
£0.172bn
BBC media monitoring £0.025bn
SCOPE programme £0.023bn
E-delivery £0.018bn
Government security programme £0.005bn
Electronic communications
assurance programme
£7.9bn
£3.7bn
Treasury Solicitors'
Department
£0.77bn
Student
loans
Higher education
funding council
for England
£4.5bn
Security
services
Cabinet
Office
Tax credits
Other
spending
£6.9bn
£0.264bn
£0.215bn
Academies &
specialist
schools
£7.0bn
Her Majesty’s
Treasury
£10.6bn
Improving
supply & quality
of housing
Office for Standards in
Education (Ofsted)
science
£0.553bn Departmental
programmes
£23.7bn
£0.107bn
HM courts service
£1.629bn
£0.24bn
£0.012bn (12)
Other spending
on services for
young people
Child Trust
Fund
Child benefit
Criminal justice reform
£0.297bn
Public
bodies
£4.5bn
£0.219bn (8)
Spending by local and
regional government
£0.048bn
Tribunals Service
Publicly funded
legal services
£0.6bn
£0.8bn
£0.616bn
Serious Fraud
Office
Offender
management
£7.5bn
(9)
Parliamentary Counsel
Office
Sixth form funding
(through learning
and skills council)
Other schools
spending
£1.27bn Policing & security
£34.3bn
Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS)
Revenue & Customs
Prosecutions Office
£30.9bn
Communities and
Local Government
Paybill
ICT
Investment in
school buildings
£1.8bn
HM Revenue
and Customs
(1)
£10.7bn
Young people
Education
maintenance
allowance
Debt interest
£15.2bn
£0.6bn £1.1bn
Teachers' pension
scheme
£2.9bn
Sure Start
Other
admin
spending
Accident &
emergency
Maternity
£0.003bn
£586.35bn
UK trade &
investment
£0.088bn (15)
Postal services
commission
(Postcomm)
Total departmental spending, 2007/2008
National Savings
& Investments
£1.7bn
£2.1bn
Culture, Welsh
language & Sport
£14bn
National lottery
funds distributed
£1.6bn
NHS pensions
£14bn
Environment
Benefit spending in GB
Learning
difficulties
Other
£0.172bn
Department
for Culture
Media & Sport
£1.7bn
£90.7bn
Ministry of Defence
Royal parks £0.020bn
£4.9bn
Broadcasting
and media
NHS
Operational
spending
£2bn
Food Standards
Agency
Tourism £0.057bn
£3.0bn
£6.6bn
Local area
agreements
Libraries £0.154bn
DCMS
Mental illness
£0.516bn
Sustainable farming
food & fisheries £0.2bn
Other executive
agencies £0.2bn
Architecture & history £0.194bn
Sport £0.522bn
Rural affairs,
environment
£0.1bn
Arts £0.428bn
Museums and
galleries £0.483bn
Iraq
£1.457bn
£0.4bn Rural Payments agency £1.2bn
£27.5bn
GLA
transport
grants
£2.4bn
Net capital
expenditure
on fixed assets
£1.7bn
General and acute
Capital
support
to local
authorities
Afghanistan
£0.5bn
Natural resources
£0.5bn Departmental operations
& rural affairs £0.6bn
£0.133bn
£1.1bn
£30bn
Capital
grants to
private sector
£1.504bn
Environmental
protection
Forestry
Commission
£2.4bn
£1.6bn
Justice
£31.3bn
£0.013bn
£0.040bn
£17.6bn
£1.0bn
Other
Devolved
spending
Scotland
Water Services Regulation
Authority (Ofwat)
Office of Gas & Electricity
Markets (Ofgem)
£3.2bn
£2.6bn
£0.003bn
Centre
command
£0.2bn
Railways
Wages
Department for
Transport
Bus service £0.4bn
operators grant
Education
Energy supply and clean energy £0.068bn
Better
regulation
£32.6bn
Admin
£3.5bn
Free & fair markets £0.418bn
Defence budget
£7.6n
£0.415bn
£0.944bn
Ensuring Government acts as an effective
& intelligent shareholder
(2)
£0.030bn
Finance &
sustainable
growth
£0.448bn
War pensions
benefits
Consular & visa
operations
Running costs
£9.8bn
£1bn
£28.3bn
£0.083bn
Health
£5.4bn
Office of rail
regulation
Scotland
Office
£7.8bn £0.079bn
Promoting business £0.552bn
Operating costs
Government
Equalities
Office
Highways
Agency
Office of Fair
Trading (Oft)
£7.3bn
£6bn
£11.3bn
£0.078bn
Citizenship £0.071bn
Home Office
New
equipment
Nuclear
decommissioning
authority
£0.001bn
Devolved
spending
Northern
Ireland
£8bn
Environment
£0.1bn
£0.7bn
Employment & learning
£0.7bn
Reg development
£0.3bn
Agriculture £0.2bn
Department for
International
Development
Enterprise, trade £0.2bn
Finance £0.2bn
Culture, arts & leisure £0.1bn
£5.4bn
Eliminating
poverty
Conflict prevention
£0.051bn
Overseas
superannuation
£5.327bn
£0.058bn
NOTES
The figures give a picture of major expenditure but exclude local
government spending not controlled by central government. It
also excludes government departments who are predominantly
financed by their income, such as the Crown Estate or the Export
Credits Guarantee Department. The totals here add up to more
than the total budget, because some of the smaller government
departments are funded via the larger ones, such as the
Parliamentary Counsel Office, funded via the Cabinet Office.
(1) Interest paid on the public debt
(2) Total spending on energy liabilities is actually £6.8bn, less
than that spent on the NDA. This is because the department
makes money back with efficiency savings
(3) SureStart spending includes childcare and nursery funding
(4) Animal health includes disease prevention, dealing with BSE
etc. The Rural Payments Agency is the body that distributes CAP
payments - these payments are large but covered by transfers
from EU so do not show up as net spending here
(5) Benefit spending excludes child benefit, guardians'
allowance; widow’s pensions; statutory paternity pay, statutory
adoption pay - these paid by HMRC, MoD, DBERR respectively
(6) Hospital and community health services spending is
estimated — figures to be published December 2008. Estimate
based on previous annual spending. Excludes spending on family
health services and GP prescriptions. Wages are also estimated,
based on previous year's figures
(7) Running costs includes salaries, hospitality budgets, home
and overseas accommodation costs. Administration and
programme amounts combined here
(8) Excludes Northern Rock, 2008-09 spending of at least
£14bn
(9) Spending on Child Benefits and Tax Credits etc does not
come out of the departmental expenditure pot
(10) Rest of policing funding includes funding of bodies related
to policing, such as the Police Complaints Authority and the
National Crime Intelligence Service
(11) Includes £3bn extra above budget from Treasury reserves
to cover operations. The total amounts may not sum as there are
overlapping amounts, ie between salaries and running costs
(12) Now part of the Cabinet Office
(13) The amount of government funding from DBERR and
DCMS, rest from licence fees from broadcasters and media
organisations
(14) Includes: House of Commons, House of Lords and National
Audit Office
(15) Split between Parliament direct, the FCO and DBERR
SOURCES: DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS, INSTITUTE FOR FISCAL STUDIES,
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE STATISTICAL ANALYSES (PESA)
RESEARCH: SIMON ROGERS, GEMMA TETLOW, MAX OPRAY
GRAPHIC: JENNY RIDLEY, MICHAEL ROBINSON