UK April borrowing overshoots forecasts

UK public sector net borrowing reached £24.3bn in April 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The monthly deficit was materially above expectations, coming in around £3.4bn higher than projections from City economists and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The April figure represented a notable deterioration compared with a year earlier. Borrowing was £4.9bn higher than in April 2025, making it the highest April budget deficit since the pandemic, according to headlines from financial news outlets.

The ONS said April borrowing was substantially higher than in the same month last year. Chief economist Grant Fitzner noted that increased government receipts compared with April 2025 were more than offset by higher spending on benefits and other costs.

A rise in social benefit spending was a key contributor to the wider deficit. Net social benefits paid by central government increased by £2.7bn in April 2026, taking total payments for the month to £29.5bn, according to the ONS figures.

Debt interest costs also added to fiscal pressures. Central government interest payments reached £10.3bn in April 2026, an increase of £0.9bn versus a year earlier and the highest April interest bill on record. These elevated financing costs compounded the impact of higher welfare spending.

The combination of rising social benefits, record April interest payments and other spending meant that overall outlays grew faster than revenues. This left the April fiscal position weaker than anticipated in official and market forecasts.

Despite the April overshoot, the latest data also included a downward revision to previous borrowing estimates. For the financial year ended March 2026, the ONS revised public sector net borrowing down by £3bn, to £129bn.

The revision indicates that, while the first month of the new financial year opened with a larger-than-expected deficit, the prior year’s overall borrowing was somewhat lower than previously reported. This updated full-year figure provides an adjusted starting point for assessing fiscal trends into 2026-27.

Taken together, the record April interest bill, higher benefit spending and the sizeable monthly deficit highlight ongoing fiscal pressures, even as the revised full-year total for 2025-26 is lower than earlier estimates.