UK government borrowing at highest rate in decades

Since the UK started recording public sector net borrowing on a monthly basis in 1993, the scale to which the government has taken on debt has never been higher. As the latest Office for National Statistics data shows, for the last financial year cumulative public borrowing has reached £300billion - far outstripping even the rate seen during the financial crisis.

Commenting on the situation earlier in the year, the ONS said: "The coronavirus pandemic has had a substantial impact on the economy and subsequently on public sector borrowing and debt. On the latest figures up to March, the statistics body added more context: "Borrowing had generally been falling since its peak of £157.7 billion during the economic downturn in FYE March 2010. However...the £300.3 billion borrowed in FYE March 2021 was nearly double this previous record."