COVID-19: United Kingdoms Debt Profile Hit £2Trillion

The Debt profile of the United Kingdom has surged up to over two trillion Pounds.

Naija News learnt that the debt profile grew by £227.6 billion from a year ago, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.

Government borrowing hit £26.7 billion in July – £28.3 billion more than the same time last year, and the fourth-highest figure since records began in 1993.

The new figures mean that public sector debt is higher than gross domestic product (GDP) – the value of everything produced in the UK in a year.

Debt reached 100.5% of GDP at the end of July, the first time it had risen above 100% since 1961, the ONS experts said.

It comes as the country plunges into the deepest recession on record after the economy shrank 20.4% from April to June.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the bleak milestone is a reminder that ‘difficult decisions’ will need to be made in order to revive the UK economy.

He said: ‘This crisis has put the public finances under significant strain as we have seen a hit to our economy and taken action to support millions of jobs, businesses and livelihoods.

‘Without that support things would have been far worse.

 

‘Today’s figures are a stark reminder that we must return our public finances to a sustainable footing over time, which will require taking difficult decisions.

‘It is also why we are taking action now to support the growth and jobs which pay for our public services, by helping businesses to reopen safely and, through our Plan For Jobs, protecting, supporting and creating jobs to ensure that nobody is left without hope.’

The Office for National Statistics said: ‘The coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on borrowing.