Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Banking misdeeds help cut Britain’s public finance deficit

November’s net borrowing was £14.1 billion —  £1.6 billion below a year ago

Russell Lynch
Friday 19 December 2014 12:50 GMT
Comments
(GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Public borrowing fell last month as banking fines to the tune of £1.1 billion for foreign-exchange rigging helped boost the Treasury's coffers.

Official figures showed November’s net borrowing was £14.1 billion — £1.6 billion below a year ago. Borrowing for the eight months of the current financial year is running at £75.8 billion, £478 million lower than last year.

The forex fines will prove a temporary boost to the Treasury’s coffers as Chancellor George Osborne has already earmarked the cash to improve GP surgeries.

But revisions to previous data — including lower capital spending — improved the overall picture while economists also noted a stronger tax take. Income-tax receipts were up 4.1 per cent year on year to £10.9 billion over the month, while VAT takings rose 2.8 per cent to £10.4 billion.

January should, meanwhile, bring a windfall in self-assessment income-tax receipts, although experts suggested the Chancellor might still struggle to hit the Office for Budget Responsibility’s recently revised borrowing target of £91.3 billion for the full year.

Capital Economics’ Samuel Tombs said borrowing for the last four months of the year would have to be 27 per cent below last year.

He added: “While November’s public-finance figures are a step in the right direction, the road to fiscal sustainability look set to be long and bumpy.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in