According to the report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in February, net borrowing by the public sector, excluding state-owned banks, amounted to 16.68 billion pounds, compared with a surplus of 8.28 billion pounds in January (revised from 5.4 billion pounds). The ONS said it was the highest borrowing for any February since monthly records began in 1993, largely because of spending on energy bill support programmes. Economists had expected a deficit of 11.40 billion pounds in February.
In February 2023, the public sector current budget deficit was 10.0 billion pounds, 7.8 billion pounds more than in February 2022. Public sector net investment was 6.7 billion pounds, 1.9 billion pounds more than in February 2022.
In the financial year-to-February 2023, the public sector borrowed 132.2 billion pounds, 15.5 billion pounds more than in the same period last year and the third highest financial year-to-February borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.
Public sector net debt (PSND ex) at the end of February 2023 was 2,507.3 billion pounds or around 99.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), with the debt-to-GDP ratio at levels last seen in the early 1960s.