UK’s net contribution to EU is £156m a week, says Treasury

THE UK made a net contribution to the European Union of roughly £156m a week in 2016/17, the lowest level for five years.

Figures published by the Treasury suggest the total amount for the 12 months to March 2017 was £8.1bn.

It is the first time a figure has been estimated for the period that included the vote to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016.

The exact amount the UK pays to the EU was one of the biggest issues of the referendum. The Leave campaign attracted criticism for printing a slogan on the side of its battlebus that said: “We send the EU £350m a week.”

Supporters of the Remain campaign said the figure was misleading as it did not take into account the money the UK receives from the EU in the form of a rebate, as well as payments made to the public sector.

The Treasury estimate of £8.1bn for 2016/17 is the lowest since 2011/12 and is down just over a quarter on the figure for 2015/16, when adjusted for inflation.

The UK’s gross contribution to the EU budget in 2016/17, before the application of the rebate, totalled £16.9bn or around £325m a week.

But, as the UK Statistics Authority pointed out during the referendum campaign, the Treasury pays the UK’s contributions to the EU after deducting the value of the rebate. The rebate in 2016/17 was £4.8bn. Subtracting this from the gross contribution gives a figure of £12.2bn. A further subtraction of the EU’s payments to the UK public sector gives the final figure of £8.1bn, or about £156m a week.

The precise amount of money the UK sends to the EU is difficult to calculate. EU payments that are made directly to the private sector, such as universities and research organisations, are not included in the Treasury’s figures.