“Ministers have failed to impose proper controls on the government’s £222bn collection of financial-sector assets, which will add to public-sector debt, official auditors have found.
Despite £62.6bn worth of sell-offs, including shares in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, the National Audit Office (NAO) has expressed concern over an expected shortfall of financial assets worth £200m.
Student loan debt is expected to hit £1tn by 2047, which has become a major factor in the government’s failure to control the sector’s finances, the report indicated.
It means that while the total received from selling assets plus loan repayments will be £94.6bn over the next five years, this will be exceeded by the £94.8bn cost of issuing new loans and other initiatives, leaving a shortfall of £200m.
The findings are contained in a report issued on Thursday by the NAO into 54 financial institutions controlled by the government. These include four large banks and the help-to-buy scheme designed to support mortgage lending, as well as the British Business Bank and Green Investment Bank.” …
East Devon Watch 