In this section: Public finances
Public finances
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
Where every £100 of tax is spent and who is paid to deliver it; the welfare bill and where the OBR forecasts it to go, Universal Credit and immigration status, and benefit fraud, error and wrongly refused claims side by side; the tax owed but not collected; and what is coming, from every announced change with its start date to the next Budget and the fifty-year projections. Every forecast is labelled with who made it and when. Right now, welfare spending forecast, 2030-31 (OBR) is £406.9bn (3 March 2026), and tax owed but not paid, 2024-25 is £59.2bn (23 June 2026).
Figure as of 3 March 2026. Source: Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions.
Key figures
- £406.9bnWelfare spending forecast, 2030-31 (OBR)
- £59.2bnTax owed but not paid, 2024-25
- £9.9bnBenefit overpaid through fraud and error, 2025-26
- 28 Oct 2026Budget 2026
Sources: Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions.
Every page in public finances
What’s coming
- Every announced tax and benefit change, and when it starts A timeline and table of every announced tax, benefit and levy change with a start date, its official costing and what it means for a typical household. 21 Announced changes still to start
- Budget 2026: 28 October 2026 The next fiscal event, what is already announced, what it will decide, and where the fiscal rules stood at the last assessment. 28 Oct 2026 Budget 2026
- Longer-term pressures: spending, tax and debt over fifty years The OBR’s fifty-year projections of spending, tax and debt, the scenarios and drivers, the fiscal rules, and the range of views, each clearly labelled. 300% Net debt, % of GDP, 2075-76 (OBR projection)
Welfare
- The welfare bill: where it is forecast to go, and why The OBR’s welfare forecast by benefit, how it has moved between editions, what drives it, and the long-term projections, with named views on both sides. £406.9bn Welfare spending forecast, 2030-31
- Universal Credit and immigration status: the figures and what they mean People on Universal Credit by immigration status from DWP’s own statistics, the separate FOI figures on household payments, the definitions behind each, who can claim, and the proposals. 15.5% People on Universal Credit without British, Irish or right-of-abode status
- Benefit fraud, error and wrongly refused claims: both directions Benefit overpaid through fraud and error, underpaid, left unclaimed and wrongly refused, side by side by benefit, with what each figure does and does not show. £9.9bn Benefit overpaid through fraud and error, 2025-26
- Benefits by area People on each main benefit as a rate of the residents it is for, in every council area of the UK, with what each nation’s figure covers.
What isn’t collected
Where it goes
- For every £100 of tax Out of every £100 spent: £33.20 on social protection, including the state pension, £21.00 on health. £33.20 of every £100 goes on social protection, including the state pension
- Debt interest: what the public sector pays on its debt Debt interest over the longest run in cash, real terms, per head and as a share of GDP and of all spending; who pays it; and the OBR’s projection. £130.3bn Debt interest: what the public sector pays on its debt, 2025-26
- Government contracts Contracts awarded by central government departments, by department and supplier, from official notices. £43.75bn Central government awards published, 2026-27
Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic and fiscal outlook, March 2026: detailed forecast tables, expenditure | Office for Budget Responsibility | 3 March 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Measuring tax gaps, 2026 edition: tables | HM Revenue and Customs | 23 June 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Fraud and error in the benefit system, FYE 2026 estimates | Department for Work and Pensions | 14 May 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.