National Debt in the UK equal to £35,000 per household

The Office for Budget Responsibility`s (OBR) Fiscal sustainability report states that public sector net debt, or `national debt`, stands at £906 billion or the equivalent of £35,000 per household - £80,000 per household taking future pension and health commitments into account, as reported by the Independent.co.uk.

The media source suggests a further austerity programme is needed if Britain is to tackle the national debt and avoid a similar financial crisis to Greece.

Recent austerity measures have included public sector spending cuts such as changes to benefits and public sector pensions. The Government is planning to implement a £116 billion fiscal squeeze by the end of this Parliament.

The OBR projects spending cuts and tax rises of about £50bn a year are needed to return the national debt levels to those prevailing before the financial crash in 2007-08.

The OBR is an independent body created by the Government in 2010 to provide `independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances`.

We reported yesterday that figures from the Bank of England put the amount of total personal debt in England at £1.45 trillion in May 2011 - £1.24 trillion of which was secured on dwellings.