Alison Ring said:
“Today’s numbers cap a dramatic year for the UK’s public finances and show this is the biggest deficit since the end of World War Two. However, the damage is less than had been feared, with the shortfall lower than the OBR had forecast.
“Ultra-low borrowing costs have provided the government with the room it needed to provide unprecedented spending to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, protect jobs and prevent the economy from crashing, as well as the opportunity to invest for growth in the coming years.
“However, even as the economy starts to recover, the legacy of higher debt and a greater exposure to changes in interest rates will be with us for years, if not decades to come. The public finances were already on an unsustainable path before the pandemic, and the government will need a long-term strategy for rebuilding them.”
See Public sector finance figures for March 2021 here
Media enquiries
Please direct all media enquiries to Jude Obi, Senior Media Relations Executive, ICAEW.