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Government borrowing falls in December | Government borrowing falls in December |
(35 minutes later) | |
Government borrowing fell by £0.4bn in December to £6.9bn, compared with 2015. | Government borrowing fell by £0.4bn in December to £6.9bn, compared with 2015. |
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, means borrowing for the year is £63.8bn, £10.6bn lower than for the same period a year ago. | The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, means borrowing for the year is £63.8bn, £10.6bn lower than for the same period a year ago. |
The last Autumn Statement indicated that the government would borrow £68bn over the full financial year to the end of April. | The last Autumn Statement indicated that the government would borrow £68bn over the full financial year to the end of April. |
The government typically receives more money than it spends in January, when a high number of tax bills are paid. | The government typically receives more money than it spends in January, when a high number of tax bills are paid. |
The ONS revised the borrowing figure for November down from £12.6bn to £11.3bn, which will help the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, to keep to the Autumn Statement target. | |
However, even if he meets it, the total will still represent about 3.5% of economic output. | |
A spokesman for the Treasury said the government had made "significant progress in repairing the public finances" by pushing down the deficit from 10% of GDP six years ago to 4%. | |
Later on Tuesday, Mr Hammond will present an updated Charter for Budget Responsibility, setting out his new fiscal rules to bring the public finances back to balance. | |
The government has abandoned the previous chancellor's aim of balancing the budget by 2020. |