Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed public sector net borrowing the difference between spending and income was 11.7bn last month, 1.9bn less than in the same month a year earlier. In the first snapshot since the November budget, the reading was above City predictions of a 10bn deficit. Tom Davies, an ONS senior statistician, said: Despite an increase in spending, this month's borrowing was the lowest November for four years.