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UK public sector borrowing fell to £14.3bn in November, as lower spending on government energy support schemes offset a higher bill for benefits.
According to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday, the figure was £0.9bn less than in the same month in 2022, but higher than the £12.9bn forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
“Payments relating to the energy price schemes that began in October 2022 have now stopped; however, these reductions in spending were offset by other inflation-related costs, such as increased benefit payments,” the ONS said.
Since the start of the financial year in April, the government has borrowed £116.4bn, which is £24.4bn more than in the same period last year and the second-highest financial year-to-November borrowing on record.
Public sector borrowing had undershot the forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK fiscal watchdog, for most of this year, thanks to stronger tax receipts than in its March forecast.
Last month the OBR revised down its borrowing forecasts for this year — April 2023 to March 2024 — to £127.9bn, down from £134bn previously expected.
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