UK government borrowing rises in October
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 22 Nov 2022
(Sharecast News) - UK government borrowing rose in October, albeit less than expected, after the government stepped in to help households and businesses with energy bills.
According to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks - PSNB ex - was £13.5bn in October, up from October 2021's £9.2bn, but well below consensus expectations of £21.0bn.
This marked the second month in a row that borrowing has exceeded last year's monthly total and was the fourth-highest October figure since records began in 1993.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "October's high borrowing figure largely is a consequence of the government's decision to shield households from most of the surge in energy prices.
"The Energy Bills Support Scheme cost the government £1.9bn in October, while the Energy Price Guarantee was the main driver of a £1.1bn rise in subsidies.
"Note that the costs of the Energy Bills Relief Scheme for businesses has not been included in October's borrowing estimate, due to a lack of data so far. Social assistance payments also were £1.0bn higher than a year ago, reflecting the payment of some of the grants to help households with living costs announced in May."
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