London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 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
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×