Public sector finances, UK:
March 2026
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“Our deficit is down £19.8bn because of
our plan to cut borrowing. In a
volatile world the decisions we are
taking are the right ones to keep costs down,
take back our energy security and cut borrowing
and debt.
“We're also reforming our public services to boost productivity,
making them more efficient and delivering more for working people
for less, while protecting our record £120 billion investment in
capital spending.”
On background:
- March is typically a higher spending month in the public
sector ahead of the end of the financial year as
departments aim to use their remaining budgets.
- Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB) was £19.8 billion lower
in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25.
- We have increased our headroom against the stability
rule to £23.7bn so that we can weather shocks and keep
borrowing costs down.
- We are set to reduce the deficit by £20bn from 24-25 to 25-26
- from 5.2% to 4.3% of GDP.
- The IMF also expects the UK's deficit to fall in every year
between 2025 and 2031, falling to the joint-lowest level (with
Canada) in the G7 by 2029 - showing we have the right economic
plan.
