Government borrowing has fallen to its lowest November level since 2007, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Public borrowing for the year-to-date fell to £48.1 billion, £3.1 billion lower than the 2016 April – November period. A spokesperson for the ONS said:
“This is the best year-to-date borrowing in a decade, but there is still further to go to repair the public finances.
“We continue to build an economy fit for the future by taking a balanced approach, getting debt falling while investing in our vital public services and keeping taxes low.”
The figure puts chancellor Philip Hammond on track to meet the Office for Budget Responsibility’s expectation of £49.9 billion for full-year borrowing to the end of March 2018.
However the same set of figures showed an increase in public sector net debt, which has risen by £72.2 billion to £1.7 trillion. The total figure is equal to 84.6 percent of Britain’s gross domestic product.