Govt confirms Gib continues in deficit, as it publishes spending details for 2023/24

The Gibraltar Government yesterday published the Appropriation Bill for 2023/4 which will see the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo ask MPs to vote for an estimated consolidated fund expenditure of £570.7m and capital expenditure of £48m.

In publishing the Appropriation Bill, No.6 Convent Place confirmed that the Gibraltar Government would again report a deficit for the 2022/23 financial year, though it did not say how big that shortfall would be.

Last year, the government reported a deficit of £55.3m for the 2021/22 financial year and forecast a shortfall of £50m for 2022/3.

“The government has confirmed that Gibraltar continues in deficit, as anticipated in last year's estimates,” a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place said.

“The details of the extent of the deficit and the estimate for the current financial year which ends 31st March 2024 will be revealed during the course of the budget debate.”

The spending from the consolidated fund broadly follows that of the preceding financial year, with the biggest segments relating to healthcare, where recurrent expenditure for the GHA is forecast at £128.8m for 2023/4, with a further £25.4m and £19.8m for the Elderly Residential Services and Care Agency respectively. Spending on education is forecast at £62m.

But overall, spending from the consolidated fund will rise from £552.8m in 2022/3 to £570.7m, driven in large part by the rise in fuel costs and increased funding for areas such as elderly care and the upkeep of tourism sites.

Spending from the Improvement and Development Fund, which is used to fund capital projects, is forecast at £48m for the 2023/4 financial year, down from £66.8m last year.