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The rise and fall of spending

In the catalogues of figures for Bermuda’s 2012/13 Budget, sharp year-on-year differences occasionally emerge.Spending on consultants, appears to hold steady - but Government’s anticipated spending on psychological services is set to rise from $6,000 this year, to $50,000 in the next fiscal year.The $1.7 million originally budgeted for legal services rose to $5.6 million in this year’s revised estimate. The 2012/13 estimate is listed at $3.2 million.Educational services were budgeted at $130,000; the estimate for next year is $216,000.Non-hospital medical fees fell from an estimated $1.5 million to less than a million actually spent; the estimate for 2012/13 is $962,000.And board and commission fees look set to rise significantly, from this year’s estimate of $865,000 to $1.6 million estimated for the year ahead.Government is the Island’s biggest employer, and the estimated budget for employer overheads in the 2011/12 Budget was $67 million.The estimate for the next fiscal year is down more than a quarter, to $40 million.In Government’s analysis of current account revenue, a striking increase looks set in Customs fees and charges.Government budgeted for $745,000 last year, and estimates $2.4 million for 2012/13 - up 223 percent.Liquor licences appear due for a fall, with $351,000 budgeted last year, and just $50,000 estimated for the year ahead.