In the financial year 2008/09 the UK recorded a general government deficit of £101.3 billion, which was equivalent to 7.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
At the end of March 2009 general government debt was £796.9 billion, equivalent to 55.5 per cent of GDP.
The Maastricht Treaty's Excessive Deficit Procedure sets deficit and debt targets of 3 per cent and 60 per cent respectively for all EU countries. The UK's compliance is assessed on a financial year basis. The debt measure used under the Maastricht Treaty does not take account of assets held by general government.
These data were reported to the European Commission at the end of September 2009.
The data on government deficit and debt under the Maastricht Treaty are calculated according to the ONS’s interpretation of the 1995 European System of Accounts (ESA95) and a United Nations Statistical Commission decision on the treatment of government receipts for use of the electro-magnetic spectrum. ONS also publishes a separate deficit figure consistent with a Eurostat decision which treats these receipts differently. General government is the sum of central and local government.
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Press Release: Government deficit and debt under the Maastrict Treaty