The British government borrowed less than expected in June, helped by higher tax receipts and a big drop in debt interest payments.
Borrowing – the difference between spending and tax income – fell to آ£18.5bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is آ£400m lower than last June and below predictions by the government’s independent forecaster. But the ONS said borrowing is still the third highest for June on record.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had expected public borrowing to reach آ£21.1bn.
The ONS said that the interest paid on government debt hit آ£12.5bn, below a record آ£20bn in June last year but still historically high.
Tax receipts were stronger than expected in June, at آ£77.4bn. This was higher than the OBR forecast and آ£5.6bn more than the same month last year.
Source: Kuwait News Agency