- Despite claims of tough choices in this week’s spending review, government spending in 2025/26 will be the equivalent of £24,095 per adult, nearly two-thirds of the average worker’s annual salary
- Government spending has shot up since the pandemic. By 2028/29, the figure will be equivalent to £24,189 per adult – a 13% increase on 2019/20
- Paying the interest on national debt is costing £1,955 per adult in 2024-25, more than double the pre-pandemic level of £935
- Working age and child welfare spending has surged 11% above pre-pandemic levels to £2,757 per adult, while health spending is set to reach £4,056 per adult by 2028-29 – 22% higher than pre-pandemic
- Far from cutting spending, the government plans to increase it by £432 per adult in real terms over the next four years
The cost of public spending per adult has shot up 13% since the pandemic, according to new analysis from the Centre for Policy Studies, with this week’s spending review doing little to address the government’s unsustainable spending trajectory.
‘The Cost of the British State’ by CPS Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy Daniel Herring analyses official figures showing how multiple areas of government expenditure have become permanently higher since the pandemic, with taxpayers bearing the cost.
Total government expenditure is set to reach £24,189 per adult by 2028-29, a shocking 65% of the average salary. Meanwhile, government is on course to grow by 23% from 2019/20 to 2028/29 – more than double the projected rate of economic growth (11%) over the same period. It is worth noting that polling published by the Adam Smith Institute this week found that only 5% of Brits are ‘highly confident’ that their taxes are well spent.
The most striking increase has been in debt servicing costs, which have more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels. This reflects not just higher interest rates, but the legacy of dramatically expanded borrowing during the pandemic. Meanwhile, working age and child welfare spending has jumped 11% above 2019-20 levels.
The cost per head on health expenditure is set to rise substantially higher than before the pandemic. Health spending will reach £4,056 per adult by 2028-29, representing a 22% real-terms increase that shows no signs of returning to pre-2020 norms.
This trajectory raises serious questions about fiscal sustainability and the burden on working taxpayers, who are funding a state that consumes nearly two-thirds of average earnings.
Daniel Herring, Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy at the CPS, said:
‘A situation whereby the government spends nearly two-thirds of the average salary, per adult, providing public services is not sustainable.
‘Not only will the cost of public services be 13% higher than pre-pandemic by the end of the decade, for little discernible improvement in quality or outcome, but the trajectory is set to continue.
‘An ever increasing percentage of public spending is being eaten up by welfare spending, the NHS, and servicing our debts. The British public will rightly be asking why they are not getting value for money.’
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Daniel Herring is Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy at the Centre for Policy Studies
- ‘The Cost of the British State’ is available here, the analysis represents government spending ‘per adult’ to indicate the proportion of spending per likely taxpayer
- For further information and media requests, please contact Emma Revell on 07931 698246 and [email protected] or Melisa Tourt on 07399 251110 and [email protected]
- The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. With a focus on taxation, economic growth, housing, immigration, and energy abundance, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity.
Real spending per person 18+ ( 2025/26 £)
Date Added: Sunday 15th June 2025
