Government debt grew by almost €315 million to €4.5 billion last year, an increase of 7.5 per cent over 2010, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office.

Interest payments on public debt rose by €15.7 million to €212.5 million.

The statistics show that an increase of €118.5 million in recurrent revenue outweighed a rise in total expenditure of €57.9 million.

Recurrent revenue stood at €2.6 billion with the comparative increase of 4.7 per cent triggered mainly by higher returns from VAT (€42.5 million), social security (€33.5 million), grants (€29.2 million) and Customs and excise duties (€20.4 million).

Income tax receipts bucked the trend, registering a drop of €25.1 million.

In 2011, total expenditure reached €2.9 billion, up 2.1 per cent, as a result of more outlays on recurrent expenditure and interest payments. Lower capital expenditure partly offset this increase.

Recurrent expenditure went up by €64.9 million to €2.4 billion. The main contributors to the increase were transfers to government entities (€15.1 million), wages (€14 million), social security state contributions (€10.8 million), which also feature as recurrent revenue, and contributions to Church schools (€7.7 million).

Capital expenditure was recorded at €288.7 million compared to €311.5 million in 2010. The lower expenditure on capital projects, by €22.8 million, was primarily triggered by the completion of the Malta south sewage infrastructure (-€36.7 million).