Public sector borrowing falls by just £300m

Public sector net borrowing in the 12 months to the end of March was £120.6bn – just £300m lower than the previous year, the Office for National Statistics said.

The Treasury insisted the reduction showed the Government was “fixing” the country’s economic problems. But Labour said it marked the final failure of Chancellor George Osborne’s deficit reduction strategy – requiring 400 years to balance the books at the current rate of progress.

Mr Osborne will now be hoping official GDP figures on Thursday show the UK economy grew in the first quarter of the year, avoiding a triple-dip recession.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander denied the Government’s strategy had “stalled”.