Economic Affairs Committee
National debt: it’s time for tough decisions
1st Report of Session 2024-25 - published 10 September 2024 - HL Paper 5
Contents
Figure 2: General government net debt
Figure 3: Government spending, revenues and the tax take
Table 1: Government borrowing and debt
Chapter 2: Debt sustainability
What is meant by ‘sustainability’?
Chapter 3: The present vulnerabilities of UK debt
Figure 4: Debt interest spending relative to GDP and revenues
Foreign ownership of debt—and international pressures
Maturities—and the impact of quantitative easing
Chapter 4: Challenges to debt sustainability
Figure 5: UK population and successive outturns and successive projections
The long-run outlook for interest rates
Chapter 5: A new fiscal framework
Figure 6: Average lifespan of fiscal rules in different countries (years)
Is the main debt rule fit for purpose?
An alternative fiscal framework
The new government’s fiscal approach
Summary of conclusions and recommendations
Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest
Appendix 4: Japan—a brief case study in debt
Evidence is published online at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8090/how-sustainable-is-our-national-debt/ and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).
Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence.