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Martin Wheatcroft

Advisor and author on public finances, business strategy and financial communication.

Martin Wheatcroft FCA
Cover page of Simply UK Government Finances 2022/23
The Modern Professional Body
ICAEW Public sector

PUBLICATIONS

ICAEW: A vision for local audit

ICAEW: IFRS 17 public sector

ICAEW: HMRC statistics

ICAEW: Spending Review 2021

ICAEW: Timeliness of auditor reporting in local government in England

ICAEW: WGA 2018-19

ICAEW: Coronavirus and
the public finances

ICAEW: Local authority
commercial investment

ICAEW: General Election 2019

ICAEW: Spending Round 2019

ICAEW: Shared and joint audits

ICAEW: Fiscal risks report

ICAEW: WGA 2017-18

ICAEW: Infrastructure
finance review

IFS & ICAEW: Defence

IFS & ICAEW: Public sector assets

ICAEW: EU exit charge

ICAEW: The debt of nations

IFS & ICAEW: Debt

IFS & ICAEW: Public sector liabilities

IFS & ICAEW: Infrastructure funding

IFS & ICAEW: Whole of Government Accounts

ICAEW: Managing the
public balance sheet

ICAEW: Funding UK
Infrastructure

IFS & ICAEW: The government's financial accounts

Blog posts

  • ICAEW chart of the week: US federal financial statements
  • January surplus small comfort for Chancellor ahead of Spring Budget
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Slowing inflation
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK business births and deaths
  • ICAEW chart of the week: IMF economic projections
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Australia federal deficit
  • Public sector net debt tops £2.5trn for the first time
  • ICAEW chart of the week: China population
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK public finances 2022/23
  • Ideas on fiscal devolution clash as economic progress stalls
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Peak inflation?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Christmas 2022
  • ICAEW chart of the week: IMF Special Drawing Rights
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Language proficiency in England and Wales
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Migration
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Autumn Statement
  • Why is cutting public spending so difficult?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Overseas travel
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Broadband speeds
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Workforce
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Consumer Price Inflation
  • ICAEW chart of the week: IFS forecast deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Gilt prices
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Provisional tax bands 2023/24
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK public debt
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Receipts and spending by age
  • ICAEW chart of the week: before the emergency fiscal event
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Energy price cap update
  • Why good governance is more than words on a page
  • July boost to public finances doesn’t stop red ink
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Commonwealth Games
  • Inflation adds fuel to the deficit as cost of borrowing soars
  • ICAEW chart of the week: hot weather
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US dollar exchange rates
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Long-term fiscal forecast
  • Alison Ring: don’t waste the huge effort you put into annual accounts
  • ICAEW chart of the week: England and Wales Census 2021
  • Economic storm clouds darken outlook for public finances
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Railway journeys
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Foreign travel
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Whole of Government Accounts 2019/20
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Public finances by region 2020/21
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Inflation around the world
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Global population
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Real interest rates
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Fuel prices
  • ICAEW chart of the week: VAT receipts by quarter
  • ICAEW chart of the week: G7 economic growth
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK International Reserves
  • ICAEW chart of the week: GCSE maths grade inflation
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US proposed federal budget 2023
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spring Statement 2022
  • A Spring Statement dominated by inflation
  • Spring Statement: what the new measures will mean
  • Public finances raise hopes for Spring Statement giveaway
  • ICAEW chart of the week: pre-Spring Statement debt forecast
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Europe’s gas supply
  • ICAEW chart of the week: NZ government balance sheet
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK Armed Forces
  • Boost to tax revenues is a dilemma for the Chancellor
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Quarterly GDP per head
  • ICAEW chart of the week: National Insurance Fund 2020-21
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK government major projects portfolio
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK quarterly public finances
  • IFRS 16: A lot of effort, but a great opportunity too
  • December public finances: rising debt interest costs offset higher tax revenues
  • EU fiscal consultation
  • ICAEW chart of the week: energy prices
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK population projections 2020 to 2045
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Government borrowing rates
  • Public debt at highest level for almost 60 years
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK international trade
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Bounce Back Loans
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK payrolled employees
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Germany
  • Deficit in line with expectations at £19bn but public debt jumps by £69bn
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Consumer Prices Index
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US Infrastructure & Jobs Act
  • ICAEW chart of the week: the path to net zero
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spending Review 2021
  • A trillion-pound Autumn Budget driven by tax and spending
  • Autumn Budget & Spring Statement: Tough choices facing public finances
  • Getting public finances under control will not be easy
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Pre-Spending Review departmental spending
  • Government borrowing exceeds £100bn in first half of financial year
  • IFS pre-Budget report warns of difficult choices for the Chancellor
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK public debt profile
  • Use Spending Review to establish a “financial platform for delivery”
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK public sector employment
  • ICAEW chart of the week: capital investment before the Spending Review
  • ICAEW chart of the week: German federal budget 2022
  • Bad debts hit public finances as last year’s deficit is revised up to £325bn
  • ICAEW chart of the week: School-age demographic change
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK government borrowing
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Pensions triple lock
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Olympinflation
  • Shadow Chief Secretary joins Fabians-ICAEW roundtable
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Tokyo Olympics cost update
  • Public debt hits £2.2tn as Budget delay rumours swirl
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK-EU financial settlement update
  • ICAEW chart of the week: OBR climate change scenarios
  • Local authorities need to invest in finance teams
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK population of 67.1m
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Banknotes in circulation
  • Fiscal deficit of £24.3bn in May as COVID spending trends downward
  • ICAEW chart of the week: The global vaccination challenge
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Rail journeys
  • NAO: UK ‘lacked playbook’ for emergencies like the pandemic
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Household savings
  • April fiscal deficit drops to £31.7bn as new financial year gets underway
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK inflation
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK monthly GDP
  • ICAEW chart of the week: G7 economies
  • What COVID-19 means for the future of tax
  • ICAEW chart of the week: The debt of G7 nations
  • March fiscal deficit hits £28bn as departments rush to spend capital budgets
  • Biggest peacetime deficit caps extraordinary year for UK public finances
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Canada Budget 2021
  • ICAEW chart of the week: personal tax bands
  • ICAEW chart of the week: personal taxation by legal form
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Metropolitan France
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Tax Day
  • Fiscal deficit on course to exceed £300bn in 2020-21
  • ICAEW chart of the week: global military spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Debt to GDP ratio
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spring Budget cutting the current deficit
  • Long-term vision for public finances unclear in a Spring Budget focused on recovery
  • ICAEW chart of the week: an unsustainable path
  • No public sector finance surplus in January as pandemic spending rises
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US federal budget baseline projections
  • ICAEW chart of the week: CP Trans-Pacific Partnership
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Japan Budget 2021-22
  • PAC demands improvements in the Whole of Government Accounts
  • ICAEW chart of the week: IMF world economic outlook update
  • ICAEW chart of the week: BBC finances
  • NAO says £190bn Defence Equipment Plan 2020-30 is unaffordable
  • Crown Consultancy gains traction as UK government spending soars
  • A difficult winter ahead for the public finances
  • ICAEW chart of the week: 40 years of technology
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Government bond yields
  • Test and trace in England falls short despite £22bn budget
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK trade in goods
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spending Review 2020
  • Spending Review 2020: public finances dominated by COVID aftermath
  • What is tomorrow’s Spending Review all about?
  • Public sector cash burn slows in October, but a difficult winter lies ahead
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Ireland Budget 2021
  • COVID tips Croydon Council over the edge into bankruptcy
  • ICAEW writes to Chief Secretary on Spending Review priorities
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK claimant count
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK electricity projections
  • Social value an increasingly important element to public procurement
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US federal deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Half year public spending and receipts
  • Half-year deficit reaches £208bn as COVID costs accumulate
  • Where is the infrastructure for delivering infrastructure?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK debt financing requirement
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Local government in England
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Quarterly GDP
  • Cancelled Budget must not be allowed to delay infrastructure plans
  • ICAEW chart of the week: public sector employment
  • Plastic is the future for cash – one way or another
  • Pandemic costs add up to a very big number
  • ICAEW chart of the week: China
  • Magnox contract exit cost: a small price to pay?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
  • ICAEW chart of the week: United States of America
  • Public sector debt hits £2tn for the first time
  • £31 billion charge shines spotlight on £2.2tn pounds public sector pension liability
  • Chief Secretary brands Treasury ‘new radicals in government’
  • ICAEW chart of the month: Cricket – England v West Indies 3rd Test
  • Whole of Government Accounts hidden within announcements blizzard
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Whole of Government Accounts
  • First quarter public finances go even deeper into the red
  • OBR: Pandemic worsens long-term outlook for public finances
  • NAO reviews government support for exports
  • ICAEW chart of the week: A square root-based recovery?
  • PAC slams Ministry for local commercial investment failures
  • Universal Credit improves but attracts NAO criticism
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Fiscal interventions
  • Further fiscal interventions focused on post-furlough future
  • NAO qualifies DWP accounts for 32nd year running
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK population in lockdown
  • New funding package for English local authorities
  • Local authorities running out of money as COVID costs mount
  • UK aircraft carrier groups won’t be operating to full extent until 2026
  • ICAEW chart of the month: Cabinet government
  • Public debt exceeds 100% of GDP for first time since 1963
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Economic lockdown
  • Treasury backs PAC in battle over recommendations
  • ICAEW chart of the week: PFI contracts past their peak
  • Challenges for public bodies as PFI contracts end
  • ICAEW chart of the week: EU spending plans 2021-27
  • ICAEW chart of the week: borrowing to exceed half a trillion pounds
  • ICAEW Fiscal Insight: Coronavirus and the public finances
  • April public finances awash with red ink
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Money for nothing
  • ICAEW chart of the week: charities
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK gilt issues
  • PAC launches local authority property investments inquiry
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK electricity usage
  • ICAEW chart of the week: deficit and debt
  • OBR: deficit could reach £273bn or more
  • Treasury announces extra £9.5bn for public services
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK card activity
  • ICAEW chart of the week: retail sales
  • Health Secretary recapitalises NHS with £13.4bn write-off
  • Spending Review suspension sensible, but avoid more delays
  • Government watchdog sounds COVID-19 fraud risk alarm
  • IFS: deficit to triple as budget contingency increases
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Forecast deficit doubles in a week
  • The £4.4bn cost of preparing for Brexit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spring Budget 2020
  • Spring Budget 2020: Hey big spender, spend a little infrastructure with me
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Raising taxes is hard to do
  • A tax system with 1,190 tax reliefs is difficult to hold accountable
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK international reserves
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Public sector employment
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Inflation
  • ICAEW chart of the month: UK international trade
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Q4 retail sales
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Regional capex
  • ICAEW chart of the week: A Single Market of 529m people
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Post-GE2019 fiscal deficits
  • ICAEW chart of the week: General Election 2019
  • ICAEW Fiscal Insight: General Election 2019
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Age profile of monthly public spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Public sector capital expenditure
  • ICAEW chart of the week: monthly GDP estimates to September 2019
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Balance of payments
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK businesses
  • ICAEW chart of the week: First half fiscal deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Bank of England banknotes
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Ireland Budget 2020
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Welsh Government Budget
  • ICAEW chart of the week: fiscal changes
  • ICAEW Fiscal Insight: Spending Round 2019
  • ICAEW chart of the week: a trillion dollar deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Spending Round 2019: an ‘end to austerity’?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Schools budget up £14bn, or is it £1.2bn?
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK energy use
  • Fiscal risks report
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Q1 deficit
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Yield curves
  • ICAEW chart of the week: BBC
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Department for Work & Pensions
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Deficit revised for student loans
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Transport for London
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Infrastructure finance review
  • ICAEW chart of the week: the UK public balance sheet
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Whole of Government Accounts 2017-18
  • ICAEW chart of the week: EU net contributors and net recipients
  • ICAEW chart of the week: US external trade
  • ICAEW chart of the week: European surpluses and deficits
  • ICAEW chart of the week: A rush of capital spending in March
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK Government financial asset sales
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK population over the next 25 years
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Australia fiscal surplus
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Housing sales
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Ireland external trade
  • Chancellor has his chequebook out, but has not opened it yet, says ICAEW
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK Government financing for 2019-20
  • ICAEW chart of the week: OBR forecast revisions UPDATED FOR SPRING STATEMENT
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK GDP over the last two decades
  • ICAEW chart of the week: A resurgence of Quangos?
  • Government departments will have to fight harder for public money, say ICAEW
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK international trade
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK railway finances
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK Defence Equipment Plan
  • ICAEW chart of the week: UK workforce statistics
  • Brexit uncertainty a concern for the public sector finances, say ICAEW
  • ICAEW chart of the week: EU budget 2019
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Austerity in English local authorities
  • ICAEW chart of the week: The global economy in 2019
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Santa’s UK P&L
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Retail spending 2018
  • ONS moves the goalposts with new treatment of student loans
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Scottish Budget
  • ICAEW chart of the week: Public order
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK foreign reserves
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Export credit guarantees
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Budget 2018 spending measures
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Forecast public sector net debt
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK Budget 2018
  • ICAEW chart of the week – NATO
  • IFS Green Budget 2018 – ICAEW: Defence
  • IFS Green Budget 2018 – ICAEW: Public sector assets
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK Armed Forces
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public assets
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Oil prices
  • ICAEW chart of the week – RPI
  • ICAEW chart of the week – What we do
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Fuel duties
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Coins
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Cricket
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Fiscal forecast
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Regional imbalances
  • ICAEW chart of the week – EU financial settlement
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Bank of England
  • ICAEW chart of the week – NHS
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public spending health squeeze
  • Chart of the week – 300 years of public spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Italy
  • ICAEW chart of the week – East Coast main line
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Fastest growing public debt
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public debt to revenue
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Interest rate exposure
  • ICAEW Better Government Series: The debt of nations
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public debt
  • ICAEW chart of the week – A trade war looms?
  • ICAEW chart of the week – income tax distribution
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Changing taxes
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public spending profile
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Spring Statement 2018
  • ICAEW chart of the week – A complicated tax system
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Global public spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week – International development aid
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK international trade
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Global GDP
  • ICAEW chart of the week – PFI contract profile
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK public spending 2017-18
  • ICAEW chart of the week – EU Budget 2018
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Health spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Santa’s balance sheet
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public spending 2018-19
  • ICAEW chart of the week – EU exit charge
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Autumn Budget 2017 tax measures
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Autumn Budget 2017
  • Managing the Public Balance Sheet
  • ICAEW chart of the week – UK trade with the rest of the world
  • ICAEW chart of the week – PFI contracts
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Taxes and other income
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public spending
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Deficit reduction
  • ICAEW chart of the week – EU Budget 2017
  • A billion pounds is a lot of money. Or is it?
  • ICAEW chart of the week – The EU exit bill
  • Printing money costs money
  • ICAEW chart of the week – EU contributions
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public sector net borrowing
  • ICAEW chart of the week – Public debt
  • Analysing the EU Exit Charge
  • Surprisingly, a lower corporate tax rate may actually discourage investment in the UK
  • Government needs to reverse the trend in infrastructure investment argues ICAEW
  • Pressure on public services – is it immigration or people living longer?
  • Whole-of-Government Accounts for 2014-15 published at last
  • The Curious Incident of the Surplus in the Night-Time
  • Budget surprises can be guaranteed
  • Time to embed Whole of Government Accounts into government
  • IFS Green Budget 2016 – in association with the ICAEW
  • Comprehensive Spending Review approaches
  • Simply UK Book Launch – Thursday 24 September
  • Budget 2015 Stop the tinkering – it’s time for a coherent long-term strategy

Tag: pink book

ICAEW chart of the week: Balance of payments

Chart: Balance of payments 2018. Current account -£93bn (trade -£38bn, primary income -£29bn, secondary income -£26bn), capital account -£3bn, financial account +£96bn (investment +£77bn, errors and omissions +£19bn).

Although most of the focus on the balance of payments is on trade, i.e. imports and exports of goods and services, it is not the only element in the balance of payments equation, as the #icaewchartoftheweek illustrates.

Based on the 2019 Pink Book published by the Office for National Statistics last week, the balance of payments between the UK and the rest of the world in 2018 comprised a current account deficit of £93bn and a capital account deficit of £3bn, balanced by net inward investment of £77bn and errors and omissions of £19bn.

The current account deficit remains high by historical standards and was equivalent to 4.3% of GDP in 2018, up from 3.5% of GDP in 2017.

The current account deficit incorporates a trade deficit of £38bn, with imports of £680bn exceeding exports of £642bn. This reflects a surplus in services of £104bn that was more than outweighed by a deficit in goods of £142bn.

The primary income deficit of £29bn reflected £242bn in outflows – mainly investment income paid to foreign investors – less £213bn coming into the UK, while the secondary income deficit of £26bn reflects contributions to international institutions (including the EU), international development assistance, remittances and other net transfers.

Capital flows of £3bn reflect both sales of non-financial assets, and capital grants to other countries.

Inward investment of £178bn comprised direct investment in UK businesses of £28bn and £151bn of equity and debt investments, less a net £1bn movement in other forms of investment. Outward investments amounted to £101bn, with direct investments in foreign businesses of £29bn and £204bn in other movements (including currency changes), less net sales of £132bn of equity and debt investments.

Unfortunately, getting the balance of payments to actually balance is quite difficult and so the ONS has plugged the difference between the current, capital and financial accounts with £19bn in ‘errors and omissions’. The ONS will continue to revise the statistics over time, with the aim of improving the accuracy of the components reported.

Although the precise numbers will continue to be refined, the overall picture presented by the ONS is unlikely to change. The UK continues to buy more than it sells, pays out more to foreign investors than is earned from foreign investments, and transfers money to the rest of the world; with finance provided by foreign investors.

For more information about the Balance of Payments, visit UK Balance of Payments, The Pink Book: 2019.

Table: Balance of payments 2018
Posted on 2019-11-052020-07-31Categories #icaewchartoftheweekTags balance of payments, chartoftheweek, current account deficit, economy, pink book, trade deficitLeave a comment on ICAEW chart of the week: Balance of payments
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