Drugs and prostitution to add £10bn to UK economy

Drugs and prostitution are to provide a £10bn boost to the UK economy, after a major shake-up to the way the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates GDP.

The ONS is adding additional industries to its calculations as part of a move to meet new guidelines from Europe. The move is one of the changes planned for September that will add up to 5% to the UK's total GDP figure. Drugs and prostitution will be included for the first time, and the ONS has calculated a detailed breakdown of their contribution to GDP based on 2009 data. It said illegal activities would have brought in £10bn in additional revenue in 2009, worth 0.7% of GDP. Around £5.3bn was attributable to prostitution and £4.4bn from illegal drugs. The impact of the two vic...