Energy bills blamed as borrowing exceeds £16bn
The soaring cost of energy bills support sent Government borrowing ballooning to a record £16.7bn last month, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) show Government borrowing in February jumped by £9.7bn year on year – due to around £9.3bn in costs fromenergysupportschemes.
The cost of energy support has now reached about £34bn sinceitwasputinplacelastOctober.
Public sector borrowing was the highest February figure since monthly records began in 1993 and take the year-to-date total to £132.2bn – £15.5bn more than the same period last year.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "Borrowing is still high because we're determined to support households and businesses with rising prices.
"Whatwillbringthesecosts right down is lower inflation, which is why it remains one of our top priorities.”
Of the £6.9bn interest payable on government debt in February, £3.4bn reflected the impact of inflation on the index-linked gilt stock.
Inflation has been falling back from painful highs seen in October last year, but consumer prices index inflation still stands at 10.1%.
The ONS said the February figure leaves the Government with £20.2bn of headroom for borrowing in March.
The Office of Budget Responsibilitysaidlastweekthat new measures in the Budget, such as increased childcare commitments for working parents, will increase spending, but borrowing is still due to be, on average, £10 billion lowereachyearfromnextyear onwards.
It also forecast the UK would avoid a recession and inflation will fall back to 2.9% at the end of this year.