Public borrowing slightly down

Public sector net borrowing, excluding financial intervention such as bank bailouts, was £17.4 billion, compared to £18.5 billion in the same month last year.

The Chancellor was dealt a blow last month when public borrowing for April came in far higher than expectations - in the first month that the Government’s spending cuts should have started to kick in.

The May figure - in line with City expectations - brings total public borrowing for the financial year to date to £27.4 billion.

Tax and spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast total public borrowing for the year to March 2012 of £122 billion, which has been adopted as a target by the Government.

The coalition borrowed £143.2 billion in the last financial year, slightly less than the £146 billion forecast by the OBR.

Public borrowing decreased last month after an 8.2% year-on-year increase in tax receipts to £38 billion overshadowed a 2.2% increase in Government spending to £51.7 billion.

Within the Government’s tax receipts was a 16.7% increase in value added tax (VAT) takings, compared to May last year, which reflects the VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% introduced in January.

But, within expenditure, the figures showed the Government is still struggling to keep a lid on its soaring interest payments, which saw the largest year-on-year spending increase of 8.9% to £4.4 billion.

Elsewhere, the figures showed net debt, excluding financial interventions, was £920.9 billion, equivalent to 60.6% of gross domestic product (GDP), a record high.

The Chancellor received a boost earlier this month after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed his deficit-reduction plans, adding that they “remained essential”.

But economists have warned that the impact of the cuts may damage the faltering economic recovery, which in turn would reduce the Government’s tax income.

GDP - a broad measure for the total economy - fell by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2010 but grew by the same amount in the first quarter of 2011, effectively stagnating over the six-month period.