UK public sector net borrowing estimated at £11.8B in August, down by £2.6B from August 2021; public sector net debt was £2.43T at end of August, or 96.6% of GDP: ONS

LONDON , September 21, 2022 (press release) –

How the relationship between UK public sector monthly income and expenditure leads to changes in deficit and debt.

Main points

• Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks (PSNB ex) was £11.8 billion in August 2022; £2.6 billion less than in August 2021 but £6.5 billion more than in pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) August 2019, when it was £5.3 billion.
• Central government current (or day-to-day) expenditure of £73.2 billion in August 2022 was largely unchanged compared with August 2021, with a £1.5 billion increase in debt interest payable, a £1.7 billion increase in payment for goods and services and a £1.1 billion increase in net social benefit payments being offset by reductions elsewhere, including a £3.4 billion reduction in subsidy payments.
• Central government debt interest payable was £8.2 billion in August 2022, £1.5 billion more than in August 2021 and the highest August figure since monthly records began in April 1997; the volatility in interest payable is largely because of the effect of Retail Prices Index (RPI) changes on index-linked gilts.
• Central government receipts were £69.6 billion in August 2022, which was £5.6 billion more than in August 2021; of this, tax receipts were £51.4 billion, which was an increase of £3.9 billion compared with August 2021.
• PSNB ex was £58.2 billion in the financial year to August 2022; this was £21.4 billion less than in the same period last year but £30.4 billion more than in the financial year to August 2019, pre-coronavirus pandemic.
• Central government net cash requirement (excluding UK Asset Resolution Ltd and Network Rail) was £4.9 billion in August 2022, which was £3.6 billion less than the £8.5 billion cash deficit in August 2021; this brought the total to £29.4 billion in the financial year to August 2022.
• Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks (PSND ex) was £2,427.5 billion at the end of August 2022, or around 96.6% of gross domestic product (GDP), which was an increase of £195.2 billion or 1.9 percentage points of GDP compared with August 2021.
• Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks and the Bank of England (PSND ex BoE) was £2,107.4 billion at the end of August 2022, or around 83.8% of GDP, which was an increase of £113.8 billion but a reduction of 0.8 percentage points of GDP compared with August 2021.

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