Glossary

Plain definitions of the terms used on this site.

Public sector net borrowing (PSNB ex): The amount the public sector borrows to cover the gap between its spending and its income, excluding public sector banks. It is the main measure of the deficit. ONS series J5II.
Current budget deficit: The difference between current expenditure and receipts, after accounting for depreciation. It excludes borrowing for investment. A negative current budget deficit is a surplus. ONS series JW2T.
Total managed expenditure (TME): All public sector spending. In PESA 2026 table 4.1, total managed expenditure for 2025-26 equals public sector current expenditure plus depreciation plus public sector net investment, within £0.1 billion of rounding. The monthly ONS series is KX5Q and excludes public sector banks.
Public sector net debt (PSND ex): The public sector's debt securities, loans, deposits and currency, minus cash and other liquid assets, excluding public sector banks. Shown in pounds (KSE6) and as a percentage of GDP (HF6X). CPOA is the same debt ratio excluding public sector banks and the Bank of England.
Central government net interest: Interest central government pays on its debt, net of interest it receives. The ONS series NMFX includes the capital uplift on index-linked gilts. JNYX is interest excluding that uplift, and JNYY is the uplift excluding any uplift paid at redemption. In September 2026 those two series add up to NMFX.
DEL and AME: Departmental expenditure limits (DEL) are the budgets set for departments. Annually managed expenditure (AME) covers spending that is harder to set in advance, including most social security and debt interest. Together they make up total managed expenditure. The department chart uses central government own expenditure within DEL from PESA table 6.1.
COFOG: The United Nations Classification of the Functions of Government. PESA table 4.2 groups public sector expenditure on services by function, such as health, education and defence. Public sector debt interest is counted within general public services.
Financial year and tax year: Public finance figures use financial years from 1 April to 31 March, written as 2026-27. A figure for 2026-27 to September covers April to September 2026. Income tax uses the tax year, from 6 April to 5 April.
Outturn and plans: Outturn is what was spent or received. Plans are amounts the government has set for later years in PESA. Plans can change. They are not Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.
Index-linked gilt: A UK government bond whose payments rise with inflation. A conventional gilt pays a fixed coupon. The Debt Management Office reports the uplifted nominal value of each.
Gilt yield: The Bank of England's daily 10-year nominal par yield on conventional gilts, series IUDMNPY. It is an estimate of the annual return from buying a 10-year gilt at the day's price and holding it to maturity.
Bank Rate: The interest rate the Bank of England pays on reserves held by commercial banks. The Monetary Policy Committee sets it. The daily series is IUDBEDR.
GDP: Gross domestic product: the total value of goods and services produced in the UK. Debt and borrowing are shown as a share of GDP so that different years can be compared.
Nominal and real: Figures on this site are nominal: pounds at the time, not adjusted for inflation. PESA also publishes real-terms columns. Those columns are not shown here.
Public sector: Central government, local government and public corporations. The headline measures on this site exclude public sector banks.
Public sector current receipts: Money the public sector receives that is not borrowed, mainly taxes and National Insurance. The monthly ONS series (JW2O) is on an accrued basis for the whole public sector. HMRC's receipts are cash received by HMRC, so the two totals differ.