Spotlight
Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks (£ million)
£ 24,520 million
2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
Public sector finances, UK: September 2026
What's in the bulletin?
- Borrowing was nearly £25 billion in September 2026, a little higher than a year earlier, as spending, including higher debt interest costs, increased more than government income, partly reflecting the impacts of inflation.
- Borrowing in the financial year to September 2026 remained below the same period last year, although it was higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.
- Debt at the end of September 2026 was provisionally estimated to have exceeded £3 trillion for the first time. However, as a proportion of the economy, debt was lower than a year earlier.
The UK contribution to the EU budget
How much does the UK contribute to the EU budget as a member? And what about payments from the EU?
Time series related to Public sector finance
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£ 24,520 million 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
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£ 15,770 million 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
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£ 8,750 million 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
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£ 3,005 bn 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
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94 % 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
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£ 16,851 m 2026 SEP
- Release date:
- 21 October 2026
- Next release:
- 20 November 2026
Datasets related to Public sector finance
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Local government plus expenditure by local authority, UK
UK local government expenditure by local authority area and function of government. These are official statistics in development.
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Public sector finances time series
Time series data for public sector finances and important fiscal aggregates, based on the new European System of Accounts 2010: ESA10 framework.
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Public sector finances tables 1 to 10: Appendix A
The data underlying the public sector finances statistical bulletin are presented in the tables PSA 1 to 10.
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Public sector current receipts: Appendix D
A breakdown of UK public sector income by latest month, financial year-to-date and full financial year, with comparisons with the same period in the previous financial year.
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Public sector finances borrowing by sub-sector: Appendix R
Public sector finances analytical tables (PSAT) showing transactions related to borrowing by sub-sector. Total Managed Expenditure (TME) is also provided.
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Government debt and deficit
Summary, reconciliation and revisions information on UK government deficit and debt figures by calendar and financial year.
Publications related to Public sector finance
Statistical bulletins
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Public sector finances, UK: September 2026
How the relationship between UK public sector monthly income and expenditure leads to changes in deficit and debt.
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UK government debt and deficit: December 2023
Quarterly estimates of UK government debt and deficit.
Articles
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Economic statistics classifications and developments in public sector finances
Includes the latest economic statistics classification updates, and information on future developments in public sector finance statistics.
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Alignment between public sector finances and national accounts
Explanation of the differences between public sector net borrowing estimates published in the public sector finances and those in the national accounts.
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Wider measures of public sector net debt
An update to previous wider measures of government debt articles, to support the release of the latest supplementary information on contingent liabilities and other potential obligations outside the public sector finances reporting framework.
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National Accounts articles
National accounts improvements to mixed income estimates.
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Effects of the economy on public sector net debt, UK
Examines the economic reasons behind the large increase in public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP over the last two decades.
Methodology related to Public sector finance
Find, compare and visualise statistics about places within the United Kingdom.