The coronavirus pandemic saw a record high of £55.2bn borrowed by the public sector in May 2020, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
This is the highest monthly total figure since records began in January 1993.
Borrowing in the current financial year to date – April to May 2020 – is estimated to have been £103.7bn, which is £87bn more than the same period last year.
Meanwhile debt exceeded GDP last month for the first time in 57 years.
The ONS pointed to the latest published figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s coronavirus reference scenario, which suggest that borrowing in financial year 2020-21 could come in at around £298.4 bn.
That would be five times the amount borrowed in the latest full financial year and would create the largest deficit since the Second World War.
“Although the impact of the pandemic on the public finances is becoming clearer, its effects are not fully captured in this release, meaning that estimates of national accounts-based (accrued) tax receipts, borrowing and GDP in particular are subject to greater than usual uncertainty,” the ONS said today.
