Maintaining firm control of the government finances
The fiscal outlook has improved since last year, due to the economy growing again. By sticking to the fiscal strategy laid out in that Budget, we now expect to return to surplus in 2015/16. This means that net debt will peak at 27.4% of GDP in 2014/15. Any favourable surprises, such as those that stem from faster growth, will be used for faster deficit reduction.
The projections show that public debt meets the long-term debt objective of 20% of GDP in 2021/22. This would be a substantial achievement given the size of the shock we have endured.
