"Mistakes in recent public finances data mean government borrowing has been overstated by a cumulative 3bn, the Office for National Statistics has said. In a fillip that gives Rachel Reeves a little bit more wriggle room in her November budget, the ONS said its estimates of public borrowing had been out by 200m-500m a month since January."
"In a notice published on Wednesday, the ONS blamed a mistake in the VAT receipts data supplied by the tax authorities for the errors in its most recent tax and spending figures that were published on 19 September. The mistake means public borrowing for the fiscal year ending March 2025 was 1bn lower than the ONS had previously suggested and so far this financial year, April-August, it is 2bn lower."
"Government borrowing in the first five months of the current fiscal year to August was 81.8bn. That was down from the 83.8bn figure published in September. The current budget deficit, excluding investment, which Reeves wants to eliminate, was 60bn in the year so far down from 62bn though that remained much higher than the 46.6bn expected by the OBR. Full details will be incorporated in the next public finances data, due to be published on 21 October, the ONS said."
The Office for National Statistics identified mistakes in recent public finances data that overstated government borrowing by about £3bn cumulatively. Monthly borrowing estimates between January and August were overstated by roughly £200m–£500m. A VAT receipts data error supplied by tax authorities caused the misreporting, lowering borrowing for the fiscal year to March 2025 by around £1bn and reducing April–August borrowing by about £2bn. Revised figures show borrowing through August at £81.8bn, down from £83.8bn, while the current budget deficit excluding investment stands at £60bn versus the OBR forecast of £46.6bn. Full corrections will appear in the next data release.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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