What are the biggest public spending programs in the UK?

In 2026, the three biggest government programs are health care (i.e, the NHS), state pensions, and welfare.

UK Public Spending Details for 2014

Spending details break down public spending by function and level of government.

Click for briefing on Spending

United Kingdom Government Spending
FY 2014 in £ billion

		Central (2)	Gen. Gov.(2)	Local (2)	Total
Pensions		142.8	0.0	0.0	142.8
Health Care		126.8	0.0	2.6	129.4
Education		37.0	0.0	47.7	84.7
Bar Chart: Click on a chart icon to display a bar chart. There are chart icons along the base of the table; they create charts to depict the numbers in the chart columns. There are also chart icons along the right edge of the table; they create charts to depict the numbers in the table rows. [+] Drill-down: Click on the [+] to drill down to more detailed numbers on public spending. Defence		44.0	0.0	0.1	44.0
Welfare		59.4	0.0	54.5	113.9
— Family and children		16.4	0.0	0.0	16.4
— Unemployment		4.9	0.0	0.0	4.9
— Housing		3.4	0.0	0.0	3.4
— Social exclusion n.e.c.		31.5	0.0	0.0	31.5
— R&D Social protection		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
— Social protection n.e.c.		3.1	0.0	54.5	57.6
Protection		15.3	0.0	14.4	29.7
Transport		11.4	0.0	9.4	20.8
General Government		9.0	0.0	4.3	13.3
Other Spending		72.4	0.0	36.8	109.2
Interest		48.8	0.0	0.5	49.3
Balance		5.9	0.0	0.0	5.9
Total Spending		572.8	0.0	170.2	743.0
Public Net Debt		0.0	0.0	0.0	1,461.1
Current Budget Deficit		0.0	0.0	0.0	77.3
Key: Pie Chart: You can select a pie chart. You can create a pie chart for central government, local authority, and overall spending/revenue. outturn source: ukpublicspending.co.uk

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