Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual deficit was (a) in percentage of GDP, (b) in 2010 real terms and (c) as a proportion of government spending in the financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2023-24.

The annual deficit in 2009-2010 was 10.3% of GDP and 4.5% of GDP in 2023-24.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) does not publish the annual deficit in real terms. In order to remove the effects of inflation and provide an indication of a country’s ability to service borrowing and debt, it is typical to compare fiscal aggregates as a percentage of GDP, which represents the scale of the aggregate in comparison to the size of the economy at the relevant time.

In nominal terms, the annual deficit was £160.9bn in 2009-2010 and £122.1bn in 2023-24.

As a proportion of government spending, the annual deficit was 22.2% in 2009-2010 and 10.0% in 2023-24.

More information is available on the ONS’ website under “Public sector finances, UK Statistical bulletins”.