UK revises borrowing figures down by £3 billion

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has cut its estimate of UK public borrowing after uncovering mistakes in tax data

The Office for National Statistics has revised down government borrowing by £3 billion following the discovery of inaccuracies in value-added tax (VAT) data used to compile fiscal figures.

According to the ONS, the UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), notified it of errors in VAT receipts, prompting an adjustment to borrowing data for the current financial year. Borrowing between April and August has now been revised to £81.8 billion from £83.8 billion, while borrowing for the previous fiscal year has also been reduced.

“Correcting for the error reduces public sector net borrowing by between £200 million and £500 million per month within the period affected,” the ONS said, noting that the correction lowers borrowing by £1 billion for the financial year ending March 2025 and by £2 billion for the year to date.

The revision comes amid growing scrutiny of the ONS after a series of recent data errors that have undermined confidence in the agency’s statistics. The Financial Times reported that these repeated inaccuracies are complicating economic decision-making for policymakers.