The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has calculated that the national debt is £4.8 trillion once state and public sector pension liabilities are included, or £78,000 for every person in the UK.
By Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor
Published: 7:33PM BST 20 Aug 2010
The IEA raised its concerns after the latest public finances data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week, which showed that the total debt, excluding bank bail-outs, is £816bn – itself a record high. However, the figures strip out the state’s pension liabilities in a contravention of standard accounting practices.
Mark Littlewood, the IEA’s director-general, said: “The latest official national debt figure is seriously misleading. Looming in the background are pension liabilities. These should be moved to the forefront.
Related articles:
- UK public sector debt ‘at £2 trillion’
- US debt a ‘national security threat’
- Hidden Agenda: The “Debt Crisis Plan” was to Strike a Blow at the National Social Safety Net
- Meltdown losses of ‘$4 trillion’
- Spain, Portugal and Belgium set to follow Ireland into abyss as debt crisis threatens to destroy the euro