Week 26, 2012: UK Public Sector Net Debt

Summary: Public Sector Net Borrowing was up almost £4bn in May 2012 compared to a year earlier, and net debt was above £1tn for the third month in a row.

What does the chart show? The blue line, measured against the left hand axis, shows the total public sector net debt, excluding financial interventions (bank bailouts) in billions of pounds. This is the total amount that the UK government currently owes. The red line, measured against the right hand axis, shows this amount as a percentage of the UK's GDP.

Why is the chart interesting? Back in week 4 of 2012, we reported that the Public Sector Net Debt had risen to more than £1 trillion for the first time. It then briefly dipped below the £1,000,000,000,000 mark, but since March has been above the landmark figure for three straight months now. Between April and May this year, the net debt increased by £6.7bn, fuelled partly by a decrease in tax revenues and an increase in government spending associated with the continuing decline in GDP.