London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

National debt grows by £18.6bn in April -  month's fourth-highest borrowing since records began

National debt grows by £18.6bn in April - month's fourth-highest borrowing since records began

Borrowing fell in April compared to the same month in 2019, but there is a warning that the good fortune is likely to come under threat as the economic outlook worsens and the cost of living crisis intensifies.

Government borrowing was £18.6bn last month - down by £5.6bn from a year ago, but the fourth-highest April figure since records began in 1993.

Despite the fall, borrowing was still £7.9bn higher than in April 2019 - the last April before the coronavirus pandemic, the Office for National Statistics said.

The figures include £3bn for the council tax rebate, which gave £150 to households in some bands to help people cope with the rising cost of living.

But it is also estimated that the 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance, which came in from April, will bring in around £18bn this financial year.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "While we are doing what we can to help families deal with rising prices, inflation is also pushing up our spending on debt interest - which is expected to reach £83bn this year.

"We must take a balanced and responsible approach to support people now, while also not burdening future generations, and we're on track to drive public debt down by 2024-25.

"We're also making sure every penny of hard-earned taxpayer money is being spent on our world leading public services, including by setting up the Public Sector Fraud Authority to clamp down on criminals and the Efficiencies and Value for Money Committee to drive efficiencies across government."

Borrowing has been revised down by £7.2bn for the financial year to the end of March 2022 to £144.6bn, but it will still be the third-highest on record in a financial year.

Interest payments on the government's borrowing reached £4.4bn - but this is likely to rise in the coming months because of soaring inflation.

'The good fortune may run its course in the coming months'


Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG UK, said: "Public sector net borrowing continued to improve in April, coming in £5.6bn lower than a year ago.

"The latest increase in national insurance, which kicked in last month, boosted receipts by £1.4bn relative to the previous year.

"Meanwhile, central government spending on procurement, which includes the NHS Test and Trace programme and the cost of vaccines, fell to its lowest level since August 2021 as free testing was phased out and the vaccine rollout matured.

"However, the good fortune for the Exchequer is likely to run its course in the coming months as the economic outlook worsens and the cost of living crisis intensifies.

"A more persistent hit to household disposable incomes may prompt the government to step in and provide additional support, which would result in higher spending.

"The cost of servicing debt remained elevated on a 12-month rolling basis against the backdrop of higher inflation, rising interest rates, and quantitative tightening, which reduces the share of debt financed at a more favourable rate.

"Following the latest spike in RPI inflation, we now expect monthly interest spending to reach an eye-watering £16bn in June, exceeding the annual day-to-day budget of the Home Office."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×