New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Science & Tech
  2. Coronavirus
22 May 2020updated 06 Oct 2020 9:45am

Government borrowing in April as high as entire last financial year

By Samuel Horti

UK government borrowing hit record levels last month because of measures to tackle the coronavirus crisis, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Borrowing for the month of April hit £62.1bn, the ONS estimated – the most in any month since records began in 1993, and nearly six times the amount of borrowing in April 2019.

It’s almost as much as the UK borrowed in the entirety of the last financial year.

And the data may not capture the full extent of government borrowing: the ONS said that “the effects of Covid-19 are not fully captured in this release”.

Content from our partners
How the UK can lead the transition to net zero
We can eliminate cervical cancer
Leveraging Search AI to build a resilient future is mission-critical for the public sector

Give a gift subscription to the New Statesman this Christmas from just £49