The ONS numbers, published today, show a surplus of £0.184bn against expectations that the government would borrow around £1bn. It compares to a deficit of £0.308bn in July 2016.
Today’s bulletin noted that borrowing in July tends to be low compared with other months of the year due to the receipt of self-assessed income tax.
In July, receipts from self-assessed income tax increased by £0.8bn to £8bn compared with July 2016. This is the highest level of July self-assessed income tax receipts since records began in 1999.
However, the Office for Budget Responsibility is forecasting that public sector net borrowing will be £58.3bn during the current financial year, up from its expectation last year.
In the current year to date, public sector net borrowing increased by £1.9bn to £22.8bn compared with the same period last year, the ONS said.
Overall government debt stood at £1,758.3bn at the end of July 2017, equivalent to 87.5% of gross domestic product, an increase of £143.9bn or 4.5% as a ratio of GDP on July 2016.
