Mr Leslie commenting said: "These repeated attempts to mislead people about the Government's failure to keep their promise that the national debt would be falling are unacceptable. For David Cameron to have been chastised once on this was bad enough. But to be reprimanded yet again shows this goes beyond error or mistake. We can only conclude that there is a deliberate attempt by David Cameron's Government to mislead the public about their true failures on the national debt.
Text of the letter from Andrew Dilnot to Chris Leslie
"Dear Mr Leslie
PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCES STATISTICS – DEBT AND DEFICIT
Thank you for your letter dated 1 October 2014 regarding the statement made by the Prime
Minister during his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham in which he
said that the country “is paying down its debts”.
As you note in your letter, this is a similar matter to that about which I replied to your
predecessor, Rachel Reeves MP, in February 2013.1 As I said in that letter, it is clearly
important for all parties to public debate in this area to understand the relevant statistical
definitions and to distinguish changes in the level of debt outstanding from changes in
borrowing per period, and to reflect these in their communication of the statistical trends
involved.
Public sector net debt is a measure of how much the UK public sector owes at a given time.
Public sector net borrowing is the difference between total accrued receipts and total accrued
(current and capital) expenditure over a specified period; the measure of net borrowing is
frequently used by commentators to summarise the extent of any public sector ‘deficit’.
The latest National Statistics on Public Sector Finances, published by the Office for National
Statistics on 30 September 2014, show that Public Sector Net Debt (excluding public sector
banks) as at the end of June 2010 was estimated to be £997.4 billion (equivalent to 64.0 per
cent of Gross Domestic Product) and £1,432.3 billion at the end of August 2014 (79.1 per
cent of GDP), an estimated increase of £434.9 billion over the period. Public Sector Net
Borrowing (excluding public sector banks) was estimated to be £133.9 billion in the 2010/11
financial year and £99.3 billion in 2013/14, an estimated fall of £34.7 billion. The charts
overleaf show the trends in more detail.
Yours sincerely,
Text of the letter from Andrew Dilnot to Chris Leslie
"Dear Mr Leslie
PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCES STATISTICS – DEBT AND DEFICIT
Thank you for your letter dated 1 October 2014 regarding the statement made by the Prime
Minister during his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham in which he
said that the country “is paying down its debts”.
As you note in your letter, this is a similar matter to that about which I replied to your
predecessor, Rachel Reeves MP, in February 2013.1 As I said in that letter, it is clearly
important for all parties to public debate in this area to understand the relevant statistical
definitions and to distinguish changes in the level of debt outstanding from changes in
borrowing per period, and to reflect these in their communication of the statistical trends
involved.
Public sector net debt is a measure of how much the UK public sector owes at a given time.
Public sector net borrowing is the difference between total accrued receipts and total accrued
(current and capital) expenditure over a specified period; the measure of net borrowing is
frequently used by commentators to summarise the extent of any public sector ‘deficit’.
The latest National Statistics on Public Sector Finances, published by the Office for National
Statistics on 30 September 2014, show that Public Sector Net Debt (excluding public sector
banks) as at the end of June 2010 was estimated to be £997.4 billion (equivalent to 64.0 per
cent of Gross Domestic Product) and £1,432.3 billion at the end of August 2014 (79.1 per
cent of GDP), an estimated increase of £434.9 billion over the period. Public Sector Net
Borrowing (excluding public sector banks) was estimated to be £133.9 billion in the 2010/11
financial year and £99.3 billion in 2013/14, an estimated fall of £34.7 billion. The charts
overleaf show the trends in more detail.
I hope that this letter sets out the Authority’s position clearly.
Yours sincerely,
Sir Andrew Dilnot CBE"
