UK public sector borrowing came in higher than expected in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Borrowing was £14.5 billion in June, £3.2 billion less than June last year, but well above the £11.6 billion forecast by the Government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Public sector borrowing – the difference between spending and income – is a closely watched metric when it comes to Government spending plans, and will be part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ calculations for the upcoming Autumn Budget.
ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “The reduction from last year reflected a fall in spending, thanks to lower debt interest payments and the ending of energy support schemes, as well as higher tax revenues.”
Read More:
Meanwhile, UK state debt remained at levels last seen in the early 1960s in June, the ONS said.
Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was provisionally estimated at 99.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of June, 2.8 percentage points more than at the end of June last year.
It comes after UK Government debt rose to levels not witnessed for more than 60 years in May.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Today’s figures are a clear reminder that this Government has inherited the worst economic circumstances since the Second World War, but we’re wasting no time to fix it.
“Fixing the economy’s foundations and restoring stability is the only way we can create growth and put more money back into people’s pockets across the country.
“That’s why we’ve introduced our Budget Responsibility Bill, which will ensure that no future Government can play fast and loose with the public finances.”
Gora Suri, economist at consulting giant PwC UK, said: “The new Government has a tricky task on its hands when it comes to the public finances.
“The latest figures reveal that the UK’s debt at the end of June 2024 was very close to the annual value of everything produced in the economy, standing at 99.5%.
“By committing to getting debt falling as a share of GDP, while ruling out an increase to any of the four main tax revenue-raisers, the Government has given itself little wiggle room. Structural reform will be needed to help drive economic growth.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here