From April 2017 to March 2018 public sector net borrowing at £40.5bn was £5.7bn less than in the previous financial year, the official figures released yesterday showed. It was also £4.7bn less than official Office for Budget Responsibility expectations.
The OBR has forecast the public sector will borrow £37.1bn between April 2018 to March 2019 - roughly one quarter of what it borrowed in the financial year ending March 2010, at the peak of the financial crisis.
ONS figures released today show the rate of inflation – Consumer Prices Index 12-month rate – was down from 2.5% in March this year to 2.4% in April 2018.
Mel Stride, financial secretary to the Treasury, said: “We must continue to ensure people’s pay outstrips inflation and build an economy that truly works for everyone.”
A Treasury spokesperson added: “Borrowing is at the lowest level for a decade, which shows our balanced approach is working.”
