Housing, the economy and public expenditure

This chapter comments on key economic trends and their connections to the housing market, and the latest government public expenditure plans. In particular it discusses the rise in housing equity withdrawal, and the significance of the switch to the European wide 'Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices' for the Bank of England inflation targets.

The chapter also draws attention to the newly available earnings data from the New Earnings Survey, that is based on place of residence, rather than place of work, and the difficult prospects for the 2005 Spending Review.

Download this chapter in PDF format

Tables and figures featured in this chapter can be viewed and downloaded from the links below in either PDF or Excel formats. Click the relevant icon to access your chosen format.

Table 2.1.1	Independent forecasts for the UK economy
Table 2.1.2	UK and European measures of Inflation
Table 2.1.3*	Annual real increases in lowest decile, lower quartile and mean average earnings for all full-time earners
Table 2.1.4	Annual real increases in lowest decile, lower quartile and mean average earnings for all full-time earners
Figure 2.1.1	Changes in budgeting control in the 2002 Spending Review

Note: The majority of the tables in The Review contain UK-based figures, but sometimes figures for Great Britain are used depending upon the sources. All other tables will refer to the country(ies) concerned. Where English regional figures are shown, this is usually indicated in the title. Tables showing breakdowns between England, Wales, Scotland and/or Northern Ireland are indicated with a single *, and those showing international comparisons with two **.

Data in tables and figures is frequently rounded and/or updated and therefore will not always add up exactly.