Public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) decreased by £3.5 billion to £42.6 billion in the latest financial year (April 2017 to March 2018), compared with the previous financial year; this is the lowest net borrowing since the financial year ending March 2007.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) for the latest financial year (April 2017 to March 2018) would be £45.2 billion, that is, £2.6 billion more than the provisional estimate of £42.6 billion.

Public sector net debt (excluding public sector banks) was £1,798.0 billion at the end of March 2018, equivalent to 86.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), an increase of £71.2 billion (or 1.0 percentage point as a ratio of GDP) on March 2017.