The Office for National Statistics revisions, which are made when actual spending data has replaced forecast information, revised total borrowing up from £87.3bn initially stated and the first upward revision last month to £87.7bn.
However, the latest estimate, which may still be revised, still represents a cut of £9.3bn compared to 2013/14, and is below the Office for Budget Responsibility’s borrowing forecast for 2014/15 of £90.2bn.
Today’s Public Sector Finances bulletin also revealed that, in May 2015, public sector borrowing was £10.1bn, a fall of £2.2bn compared with the same month in 2014.
Borrowing in the first two months of the new financial year stands at £16.4bn, down £5.1bn from the same two months in 2014/15.
At the end of May, public sector net debt, excluding investments in the bailed out banks, stood at £1.5 trillion, an increase of £83.2bn on a year ago.
Responding to the figures, a Treasury spokesman said that the figures showed the government’s deficit reduction plan was working.
“We have more than halved the deficit, but at just under 5% [of gross domestic product] it is still one of the highest in the world.
“We’ve learnt that there is no shortcut to fixing the public finances to provide economic security for working people. So that is why we will being forward a strong new fiscal framework at the Budget to entrench a permanent commitment to run a budget surplus in normal times, and the budget responsibility it represents.”
