The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that in May public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks decreased to 13.99 billion pounds compared to 21.9 billion pounds in April (revised from 18.6 billion pounds). The latest value was the third-highest May borrowing since monthly records began in 1993. Economists expected the budget deficit to drop to 12.0 billion pounds. The ONS also reported that compared to May 2020 (pre-coronavirus), public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks increased by 8.5 billion pounds.
Central government revenues in May increased by 5.7 billion pounds compared to the same period in 2021, to 66.6 billion pounds, while tax revenues reached 48.3 billion pounds (+3.4 billion pounds). The current (or daily) expenses of the central government decreased by 2.2 billion pounds compared to May 2021, to 74.0 billion pounds.
The data also showed that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was 35.9 billion pounds in the financial year to May 2022. This was 6.4 billion pounds less than in the same period last year but 19.8 billion pounds more than in the financial year to May 2019.