Government borrowing surpassed expectations in April, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Borrowing reached £24.3 billion, a 25 per cent increase on the £19.4 billion in April 2025. The figures also beat the £20.9 billion prediction from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Grant Fitzner, Chief Economist at ONS, said: “Borrowing this month was substantially higher than in April last year and although receipts increased compared with April 2025, this was more than offset by higher spending on benefits and other costs.”
“Borrowing for the latest full financial year was revised down slightly, and on a comparable basis remains the lowest since the year ending March 2020.”
Government spending on benefits rose by £2.7 billion compared with the same time last year, largely due to inflation-linked increases in many benefits and earnings-linked increases to State Pension payments.
Debt interest payments sat at £10.3 billion, a record high for the month of April, and up £0.9 billion from April 2025.
Commenting on the data, Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director for Zoho UK, said: “Businesses continue to battle a turbulent economic storm in 2026, remaining under pressure from rising prices, inflation and instability. In this environment, firms cannot be complacent about their own spending, keeping costs down and driving ROI while navigating this challenging environment.”
“Many of the businesses that rebounded strongly from the pandemic were the ones that used technology to drive greater efficiencies and deliver more value to partners, employees and customers, creating stability and building longer-term trust. Today, that’s smart data and AI investments to provide real-time and future-looking insights to determine market opportunities and threats, alongside a host of other benefits. This can help business leaders weather the economic uncertainty and plan for growth in the face of wavering confidence.”
