The net debt accumulated from the British Government stood at the end of March at 2.5 billion pounds (€2.8 trillion), 99.6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a percentage not seen since the early 1960s, according to figures released this Tuesday.
The National Statistics Office (ONS) published this data by announcing today in a statement on its Twitter account the indebtedness figures for March.
During that month, the indebtedness of the Government reached 21.5 billion pounds (€24.277 million), an increase of 16,300 million pounds (€18.4 billion) compared to the previous year, and the second highest debt figure for a month of March in since 1993.
The ONS indicated that the net borrowing of the public sector accumulated for the fiscal year that ended last March was initially estimated at 139.2 billion pounds (€157,132 or 5.5% of GDP), 18.1 billion pounds (€20,777) more than the registered in March 2022 and the fourth highest debt figure since 1946.
The annual figure was also 13.2 billion pounds (€14.900) lower than the forecasted last month by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR).
“These numbers reflect the inevitable consequences of borrowing exorbitant sums to help families and businesses through the pandemic and with the energy crisis caused by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” British Economy Minister Jeremy Hunt said today.
The Tory incumbent noted that the Government “He now has a clear plan to lower the debt, which will reduce the financial pressure we pass on to our children and grandchildren.”