Jeremy Hunt’s tax cut plans face setback as government borrowing tops £20bn

Jeremy Hunt is relying on an improvement in the public finances to justify tax cuts before voters go to the polls. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

Jeremy Hunt’s plans for pre-election tax cuts have received a setback after higher spending on benefits and lower tax receipts pushed government borrowing above £20bn last month.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the budget deficit – the gap between public spending and tax receipts – was £1.5bn higher than a year earlier and the fourth highest for an April since records began.