UK government borrowing hits highest February level on record

Reuters

The government borrowed £19.1bn last month, the highest figure for February since records began in 1993, reflecting the cost of pandemic support measures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that borrowing was £17.6bn higher compared to February last year.

Borrowing for the year so far has reached £278.8bn, a record for that period.

Total public sector debt has now risen to £2.13 trillion, according to the ONS.

The figures showed the government spent £3.9bn last month on job support measures alone.

They also showed a fall in tax income, notably from lower VAT, business rates and fuel duty.

But money coming in from self-employed tax payments were up by £0.9bn from last year.

The ONS said: "Although the impact of the pandemic on the public finances is becoming clearer, its effects are not fully captured in this release, meaning that estimates of accrued tax receipts and borrowing are subject to greater than usual uncertainty."

The government also said it would receive £1.1bn from selling part of its stake in Natwest Group, by selling them back to the bank.

The sale, which will complete on March 23, will cut the size of the government's stake from almost 62% to 59.8%.

The 591 million shares were bought at 190.5p. It paid 440p a share when it stepped in to support the bank, then called RBS, in 2008 during the financial crisis.

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March 19, 2021 at 07:48PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56453869