Official figures show the cost of public services and interest payments on government debt are rising faster than the increases in income tax and national insurance contributions.
It means government borrowing reached the second-highest level last month since records began in 1993, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics.
June’s borrowing figures were second only to the highs seen in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many workers were furloughed.
State borrowing was more than £6bn higher than the same month last year.
It’s bad news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has vowed to bring down government debt and balance the budget by 2030 as part of her self-imposed fiscal rules.
She’s expected to increase taxes to meet the gap between spending and tax revenue.
Ms Reeves’s deputy, the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said, “We are committed to tough fiscal rules, so we do not borrow for day-to-day spending and get debt down as a share of our economy.”
“This commitment to economic stability means we can get on with investing in Britain’s renewal”.
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