UK Government borrows less than expected in June

The UK government borrowed less than expected in June, helped by higher tax receipts and a drop in debt interest payments. 

The ONS figures show that borrowing fell to £18.5bn – £400m lower than last June and below predictions by the government’s independent forecaster. 

But the ONS said borrowing is still the third highest for June on record. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility had expected public borrowing to reach £21.1bn. Meanwhile, the ONS said that borrowing for April and May had been revised down by £7bn.

Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, says Jeremy Hunt “now looks likely to have a little more wiggle room in the Autumn Statement to fund a few pre-election giveaways”.

But she added: “With the full upward impact on borrowing from higher interest rates and weaker GDP growth still coming down the line, we continue to think any package of pre-election net tax cuts will probably need to be modest or swiftly reversed.”