But that official figure excludes, inter alia, obligations built up for state and unfunded public sector pensions; PFI and Network Rail liabilities; and the bank bail-outs.
The total, calculated by the Institute of Economic Affairs, is therefore well above £5 trillion (more than twice even the government’s so-called WGA or Whole of Government Accounts) rising to around £6 trillion by 2016/17 – proportionately £550 billion for Scotland or £200,000 per adult Scot.
John Birkett
Horseleys Park
St Andrews