Tax & Spend
UK Budget Deficit Jumps 27% in First Eight Months of Fiscal Year
- Cost-of-living crisis drives up Treasury spending since April
- Welfare, staff costs increase 12% but debt payments fall
Shoppers queue at a fruit and vegetable stall in London, on Dec. 18.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
UK government borrowing increased sharply in the first eight months of the fiscal year as the cost of helping people with the living standards crisis drove up government spending.
The deficit between April and November climbed to £116.4 billion ($147 billion), a rise of 27% from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. November alone saw a shortfall of £14.3 billion, more than the £13 billion forecast by economists.