Britain’s public finances deteriorated further with £18.2m of public sector borrowing in the final month of the fiscal year, higher than the £16bn forecast by economists. It was also higher than the £18bn the Government borrowed in March last year.
Despite the depleted coffers in March, full-year borrowing came in exactly at £126bn, which was the Budget estimate from the UK’s official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
It was £11bn lower than borrowing in 2010-11, providing relief for the Chancellor who has repeatedly restated his commitment to austerity in an attempt to drive down the deficit and preserve Britain’s AAA credit rating.
A Treasury spokesman said: “Today’s data shows that the forecast for 2011-12 is on track, with public borrowing down by £11 billion compared to the previous year. This shows that the Government’s plan to reduce the budget deficit is working.”
The March figure would have pushed borrowing above the full-year target, but the ONS revised down its estimate of borrowing in February to £12.2bn from £15.2bn.
In reality there was little to cheer about in the detail of the data as Britain’s national debt rose above the £1 trillion mark to £1.02 trillion in March, which was equivalent to 66pc of GDP and the highest since records began in 1993.
Economists say the Government will have a tougher task meeting forecasts to reduce borrowing to £120bn in the current financial year as the economy struggles and unemployment rises, which will hurt its tax revenues and increase benefits payments.
Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics, said: "March's public finance figures suggest that the trend in the UK's fiscal position is continuing to worsen.
Source: Osborne hits £126bn borrowing target despite March rise - Telegraph
Despite the depleted coffers in March, full-year borrowing came in exactly at £126bn, which was the Budget estimate from the UK’s official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
It was £11bn lower than borrowing in 2010-11, providing relief for the Chancellor who has repeatedly restated his commitment to austerity in an attempt to drive down the deficit and preserve Britain’s AAA credit rating.
A Treasury spokesman said: “Today’s data shows that the forecast for 2011-12 is on track, with public borrowing down by £11 billion compared to the previous year. This shows that the Government’s plan to reduce the budget deficit is working.”
The March figure would have pushed borrowing above the full-year target, but the ONS revised down its estimate of borrowing in February to £12.2bn from £15.2bn.
In reality there was little to cheer about in the detail of the data as Britain’s national debt rose above the £1 trillion mark to £1.02 trillion in March, which was equivalent to 66pc of GDP and the highest since records began in 1993.
Economists say the Government will have a tougher task meeting forecasts to reduce borrowing to £120bn in the current financial year as the economy struggles and unemployment rises, which will hurt its tax revenues and increase benefits payments.
Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics, said: "March's public finance figures suggest that the trend in the UK's fiscal position is continuing to worsen.
Source: Osborne hits £126bn borrowing target despite March rise - Telegraph
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