23rd Apr 2026 07:19
(Alliance News) - UK public sector borrowing fell last month to the lowest figure for March since 2022, official numbers on Thursday showed.
According to the Office for National Statistics, net borrowing by the UK government amounted to GBP12.61 billion in March, narrowed from GBP13.98 billion a year earlier and less than GBP12.82 billion in February. Borrowing was higher than the FXStreet-cited market consensus of GBP10.4 billion, however.
Even so, it was the lowest March borrowing figure since 2022, when borrowing was GBP5.54 billion.
Borrowing in the financial year that ended in March was initially estimated at GBP132.0 billion. This was 13% less than GBP151.2 billion in the financial year to March 2025 and GBP700 million less than the GBP132.7 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Borrowing in the financial year ended March was initially estimated at 4.3% of gross domestic product. This was 0.9 percentage point less than the financial year to March 2025 and the lowest value since the financial year to March 2020, when it was 2.6% of GDP.
The current budget deficit was GBP50.9 billion in the financial year to March 2026, which was 33% less than GBP76.1 billion the year before.
Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was provisionally estimated at 93.8% of GDP at the end of March. This is 0.6 percentage point more than in March 2025 and remains at the highest level since the early 1960s, the ONS said.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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