“In a report released tonight, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that the proportion of GDP spent on jobseekers’ allowance, pensions and other ‘public social spending’ stood at 23.8 per cent — the same as it was in 2010. The Paris-based think tank warned that unless action was taken to cut the cost to the state of Britain’s rapidly rising elderly population, the health and pensions systems could collapse. Ddespite broadly positive signs, economic activity is still well below the level enjoyed before the financial crisis and Britain faces years of austerity and uncertainty.”
