Annual public borrowing worst on record at £163bn

Published on Thursday 22 April 2010 23:15

ANNUAL public borrowing has soared to £163.4 billion, the worst deficit since records began.

Despite the record debt, the figures published yesterday were lower than Chancellor Alistair Darling's forecast at the budget earlier this year.

The total for the year to the end of March – excluding the temporary effects of government intervention – fell short of Darling's 167bn Budget forecast and was below his original 178bn estimate.

The figures were still the worst since at least the Second World War, confirming the size of the task ahead for whoever wins the election.

The Office for National Statistics said Britain added another 35.5bn in public sector net borrowing last month, according to the government's preferred measure.

With the inclusion of financial intervention outlays and benefits – such as fees to Royal Bank of Scotland for the toxic asset protection scheme – annual public borrowing hit 152.8bn, up from 86.9bn in 2008-9. This saw net debt soar to 890bn in 2009-10 – a record 62 per cent of gross domestic product.

The budget deficit widened by 14.8bn in March to take the gaping hole in public finances to an all-time record of 107.6bn over the financial year, more than double the 49.7bn recorded a year earlier.

However, there were signs of improvements in yesterday's figures.

Total tax receipts rose 3.8 per cent in March and they have now increased in four out of the past five months.