Budget 2003: Brown forecasts borrowing to 2007
Chancellor Gordon Brown, today in his Budget, gave his prediction for UK net borrowing figures and explained how he wanted to spend the money.
Link: Budget special
For the five years from 2003 net borrowing percentages of GBP will be 2.5%, 2.1% 1.9%, 1.7% and 1.6% in 2007. This means that for these years, the government will borrow £27bn, £24bn, £23bn, £22bn and £22bn.
By 2006, he promised he would spend, per year, £1bn more on housing, £5bn more on transport, £15bn more on education, £40bn more on health, and £61bn more on public services. He will also set aside new resources in the reserve margin for annually managed expenditure.