UK Public Sector Liabilities Hit £2.66 Trillion, Up £127 Billion Year-on-Year

ONS provisional figures show public sector net financial liabilities reached 83.7 per cent of GDP at the end of July 2026, rising £127.2 billion compared with the same point in 2025.

The UK’s public sector net financial liabilities excluding public sector banks stood at £2,657.7 billion at the end of July 2026, the Office for National Statistics has announced — a year-on-year rise of £127.2 billion. The figures show the measure, known as PSNFL ex, now represents 83.7 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with around 81.6 per cent of GDP at the end of June 2024, according to the House of Commons Library. That’s a sharp two-year climb by any reading.

PSNFL ex is a broader gauge of the government’s balance sheet than the more familiar public sector net debt figure — it captures public sector pension obligations and certain financial derivatives alongside conventional borrowing. Public sector net debt itself was running at around 94.9 per cent of GDP as of June 2026, the figures show, meaning both the narrow and wider measures remain elevated by historical standards. All July 2026 PSNFL ex figures are provisional and may be revised as updated tax receipt data, departmental accounts and local government returns are incorporated.

The trend has been consistently upward through 2026. PSNFL ex stood at 83.3 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2026 and 83.6 per cent at the end of April 2026 — each reading higher than the equivalent month a year earlier. The Office for Budget Responsibility has noted that borrowing in the first quarter of the 2026–27 financial year came in slightly above forecast, suggesting fiscal pressures have run ahead of earlier expectations.

For Kent, the national picture matters indirectly but concretely. If the government responds to rising liabilities by tightening departmental budgets, funding flows to Kent County Council, Medway Council and NHS Kent and Medway could face greater pressure. Road and rail schemes, flood defences and social care budgets are among the areas that depend on central government allocations — and all sit within the fiscal space that PSNFL ex is designed to measure.

The ONS presents the data without policy commentary. HM Treasury has previously argued that elevated liabilities reflect necessary support during the pandemic and the energy price shock, alongside public investment. Critics, including opposition parties and some economists, contend that the rising figures point to constrained future policy choices and potential pressure on taxes or services — though those remain contested claims rather than established outcomes.