Public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) decreased by £5.6 billion to £48.6 billion in the current financial year-to-date (April to October 2016), compared with the same period in 2015.

Public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) decreased by £1.6 billion to £4.8 billion in October 2016, compared with October 2015.

Public sector net debt (excluding public sector banks) at the end of October 2016 was £1,641.6 billion, equivalent to 83.8% of gross domestic product (GDP); an increase of £50.9 billion compared with October 2015.

This month, debt as a percentage of GDP fell by 0.5 percentage point compared with October 2015. This is the fifth successive month of debt falling on the year as a percentage of GDP and indicates that GDP is currently increasing (year-on-year) faster than net debt excluding public sector banks.