Spending on general public services: record highs and lows
The extremes of spending on general public services as published by HM Treasury, across the 24 periods held here (Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.
Highest published
£166.2bnYear ending March 2023
Lowest published
£45bnYear ending March 2003
The full series
The chart as a table
| Period | Spending on general public services |
|---|---|
| Year ending March 2003 | £45bn |
| Year ending March 2004 | £48.7bn |
| Year ending March 2005 | £54bn |
| Year ending March 2006 | £58bn |
| Year ending March 2007 | £61.6bn |
| Year ending March 2008 | £65.6bn |
| Year ending March 2009 | £69.4bn |
| Year ending March 2010 | £65.2bn |
| Year ending March 2011 | £77.9bn |
| Year ending March 2012 | £79.3bn |
| Year ending March 2013 | £74.8bn |
| Year ending March 2014 | £76.9bn |
| Year ending March 2015 | £75.7bn |
| Year ending March 2016 | £76.4bn |
| Year ending March 2017 | £80.2bn |
| Year ending March 2018 | £84.4bn |
| Year ending March 2019 | £80.9bn |
| Year ending March 2020 | £81.4bn |
| Year ending March 2021 | £72bn |
| Year ending March 2022 | £109.2bn |
| Year ending March 2023 | £166.2bn |
| Year ending March 2024 | £163.8bn |
| Year ending March 2025 | £160.2bn |
| Year ending March 2026 | £165.5bn |
What a record here is, and is not
A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.