22nd Jan 2026 07:20
(Alliance News) - UK public sector net borrowing rose in December, the Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday.
Net borrowing, the difference between total public sector spending and income, was GBP11.58 billion in December, below the FXStreet-cited market consensus estimate of GBP13.5 billion.
The December total was above November's net borrowing of GBP10.94 billion, which was revised downwards from GBP11.65 billion. It was down 38% from December 2024.
Borrowing in the financial year to December was GBP140.4 billion, the ONS reported. This was around GBP300 million, or 0.2%, less than in the same nine months in 2024, "but still the third-highest April to December borrowing on record (not adjusted for inflation), after those of 2020 and 2024".
Also for the financial year so far, the current budget deficit was GBP5.8 billion in December, bringing the total current budget deficit in the financial year to December to GBP94.9 billion. This was GBP1.6 billion or 1.6% less than in the same nine-month period of 2024.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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