Data published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK Treasury recording a surplus in March, £262 million versus a surplus of £407 million in February. The better than expected data at the end of the fiscal year means that, for the first time since 2002, the current budget deficit (using only the cost of day-to-day spending, not investment) is in surplus. Borrowing for the whole of 2017/2018 was £42.6 billion, lower than the Office of Budgetary Responsibility’s forecast which this coming year is expected to drop to £37.1 billion. Treasurer Hammond said, ‘our economy is at a turning point with debt starting to fall and people’s wages rising’.
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The Editor
Sterling’s void
The government’s new public investment plans make sense, but may not be enough to reverse the pound’s downward spiral
John Hughman