Government borrowed £62BILLION in April the highest on record

The scale of the coronavirus hit on the public finances was laid bare today with figures showing the government borrowed a record £62.1 billion in April.

The eye-watering figure was the highest for any month on record, amid desperate moves to bail out millions of workers and businesses.  

It was even higher than analysts had predicted, with a consensus of economists predicting £30.7billion for the month.

The sum is thought to have pushed total public debt to the brink of the £2trillion mark for the first time. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing was £51.1 billion higher than the same month last year. 

The sum for April was almost the same as the entire financial year from April 2019 to March this year – estimated at £62.7 billion.

Meanwhile, state borrowing in March 2020 has been revised up by £11.7billion to £14.7billion.

It said this was driven by a reduction in previous estimates of tax receipts and National Insurance contributions.

It comes after the Chancellor stepped up financial support for businesses and employees after vast areas of the economy were forced to halt due to the coronavirus lockdown.

As a result of the jump in borrowing, public sector debt rose to £1,887.6 billion at the end of April – £118.4billion higher than April 2019.

The ONS said that the Government borrowed £62.7billion over the 12 months to the end of March, representing a £22.5 billion rise on the previous year. 

The Office of Budget Responsibility has warned that the government could borrow £300billion this year.