UK borrowing hits £18.3 billion in August, £3.5 billion above forecast

The UK borrowed £18.3 billion in August 2026 — excluding public sector banks — a rise of £2.9 billion compared with August 2025. That 19 per cent year-on-year jump also came in £3.5 billion above what the Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast for the month.

The picture looks somewhat better when you zoom out. Public sector net borrowing for the financial year to August 2026 reached £77.3 billion, which is £2.2 billion — or 2.7 per cent — lower than during the same period a year earlier. But that cumulative figure still sits £8.1 billion above the OBR’s forecast, suggesting the government is running consistently hotter than the fiscal watchdog expected.

Public sector debt remained just below £3 trillion at the end of August 2026. The ONS reported that debt measured as a share of the economy was lower than a year earlier — a distinction that matters, since a growing economy can carry a larger cash debt pile without the burden necessarily worsening.

The figures were published on 22 September 2026 in the ONS public sector finances bulletin, jointly presented with HM Treasury. As with all such releases, the ONS noted the data are subject to later revision as more complete administrative and accounting information becomes available.