Government borrowing last month was £15bn more than last year, with the budget deficit higher than economists predicted.
The gap between what the government takes in and what it spends was £10.7bn in February, according to official figures.
The sum is the fourth highest since records began in 1993 and £4.1bn higher than anticipated by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.
This time last year, the government borrowed £117.5bn but the figure soared to £132.2bn during the current financial year, representing a £15bn increase, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
It’s unwelcome news just days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves gives an update on the health of the British economy in her spring statement.
In response to the figures, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “We’re refocusing the public sector on our missions and, for the first time in 17 years, going through every penny of taxpayer money line by line, to make sure it is helping us secure Britain’s future”.
“At the core of this urgent mission is sound public finances, based on our non-negotiable fiscal rules. This government will never play fast and loose with the public finances.”
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