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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Richard Partington

UK government borrowed £13bn less than expected last year

coins and notes sit next to an HMRC tax form
Jeremy Hunt said ‘we cannot borrow forever’ and insisted the government had a clear plan to get debt falling. Photograph: georgeclerk/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The UK government borrowed about £13bn less than expected last year, official figures show, despite the budget deficit reaching the fourth-highest level on records dating back to 1946.

The Office for National Statistics said the gap between the state’s revenues and its spending was estimated at £139bn in the 12 months to March, an increase of more than £18bn from a year earlier.

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