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The UK’s public funds swung to a surplus in January, propelled by report revenue and capital good points tax receipts, however nonetheless fell brief expectations as chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to maintain her Finances plans on monitor and kick-start the economic system.
The general public sector was in surplus by £15.4bn in January, £0.8bn greater than final yr and the very best seen in that month since 1993, the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics stated on Friday.
Nonetheless, this was nonetheless smaller than the £20bn January surplus the Workplace for Finances Duty had been anticipating when it final revealed forecasts alongside the October Finances.
Borrowing for the monetary yr to January was increased than a yr earlier, totalling £118.2bn — £11.8bn greater than on the identical level within the 2023-24 monetary yr, the ONS stated, and better than the £105.4bn the Workplace for Finances Duty was anticipating in October.
“The UK fiscal place stays a fear,” stated Dennis Tatarkov, senior Economist at KPMG UK, including: “If the chancellor stays dedicated to her fiscal targets, then the Spring Assertion might have to include extra tax and spending modifications.”
A surplus typically happens at the beginning of the calendar yr as a result of self-assessed revenue and capital good points tax falls due on the finish of January.
The ONS stated receipts from these taxes of £36.2bn in January 2025, £3.8bn greater than a yr earlier and the very best for January since month-to-month data started in 1999.
It is a creating story
This text has been amended to replicate the truth that the January surplus within the public funds fell wanting expectations
