19.12.202507:20:24UTC+00UK Public Borrowing Narrows in November

In November 2025, the UK's public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was reduced to £11.7 billion, compared to £13.6 billion from the previous year, though it exceeded market forecasts of £10 billion. This reduction was bolstered by an increase of £5.9 billion in total public sector receipts over the year, driven by higher revenues from central government taxes and National Insurance contributions. However, total public sector spending also rose by £4.0 billion, primarily due to heightened expenditure on public services and social benefits, although there was a decrease in debt interest costs owing to reduced inflation-linked payments. For the financial year up to November, borrowing totaled £132.3 billion, reflecting an increase of £10.0 billion, or 8.2%, compared to the corresponding eight-month timeframe in 2024, and marking it as the second-highest borrowing for the April-to-November period, surpassed only by 2020. Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, was approximately 95.6% of GDP, maintaining its position at historically high levels.