Accredited official statistics

Public sector finances bulletin

The public sector finances statistical bulletin.

Documents

Public Sector Finances: August 2025

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Public Sector Finances, Appendix N: August 2025

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Public Sector Finances, Appendix M: August 2025

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Public Sector Finances, Appendix A: August 2025

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Public Sector Finances, August 2025: VAT Correction

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Correction affecting Public Sector Finances, UK: August 2025 release 19 September 2025

We have been informed by HM Revenue and Customs that there was an error in the Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts data supplied to ONS and included in our Public Sector Finances release published on 19 September 2025.

The error affects our headline series public sector current budget deficit and public sector net borrowing, for the period January 2025 to August 2025. No earlier time periods are affected.

The next public sector finances release will be published on 21 October 2025 and will include corrections for this error, along with further regular data updates.

Correcting for the error reduces public sector net borrowing by between £200 million and £500 million per month within the period affected, resulting in a reduction in borrowing of £1 billion for the financial year ending March 2025, and a reduction of £2 billion for the financial year to date (April to August 2025).

The impact of the VAT receipts data error on headline series is illustrated in these tables (see Public Sector Finances, August 2025: VAT Correction), which also show how the restated version of public sector net borrowing compares with official forecasts.

There is no impact on our public sector finances headline series for central government net cash requirement, public sector net debt, or public sector net financial liabilities.

A statement from HM Revenue and Customs is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schedule-of-updates-for-hmrcs-statistics/2025-hmrc-statistics-announcements.

Public sector finances statistics are compiled on a National Accounts (accrued) basis while HM Revenue and Customs statistics are published on a cash basis. This means that although the overall magnitude of the impact is similar, the impact of the error on public sector finances statistics, particularly the time period affected, differs from the impact on statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs. 

ONS apologises for any inconvenience caused.

The public sector finances statistical bulletin is published jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and HM Treasury on a monthly basis and provides the latest available estimates for key public sector finance statistics, such as public sector net borrowing, public sector net debt and public sector current budget deficit/surplus.

The bulletin is structured with the latest headline figures, revisions and information on recent events and/or methodological changes which impact on the statistics, located at the front of the bulletin.

Following this there is some contextual information for users and then more detailed information on each of the key aggregates. Historic data on public sector net debt and public sector net borrowing have been included to put the latest figures in context. More detailed notes on the publication are located towards the end of the bulletin.

HM Treasury is no longer producing the public sector finances databank. For information on the key fiscal aggregates:

Go to the OBR for outturn and projected numbers for the key fiscal aggregates in financial years.

Go to the ONS for outturn data of the key fiscal aggregates in quarters, financial years and on a monthly basis.

Go to the ONS for a breakdown on receipts and expenditure.

Updates to this page

Published 20 June 2013
Last updated 8 October 2025 show all updates
  1. Public Sector Finances, August 2025: VAT Correction added and further information added to details.

  2. Information for August has been added

  3. Updated for July 2025.

  4. June 2025 edition added.

  5. Updated for May 2025.

  6. Updated for April 2025.

  7. Updated for March 2025.

  8. Updated for February 2025.

  9. Updated for January 2025.

  10. Updated for December 2024.

  11. Updated for November 2024.

  12. Updated for October 2024.

  13. Updated for September 2024.

  14. Updated for August 2024.

  15. Updated for July 2024.

  16. Updated for June 2024.

  17. Updated for May 2024.

  18. Updated for April 2024.

  19. Updated for March 2024.

  20. Updated for February 2024

  21. Updated for January 2024.

  22. Updated for December 2023.

  23. Updated for November 2023.

  24. Updated for October 2023

  25. Updated for September 2023

  26. Updated for August 2023

  27. Updated for July 2023.

  28. Updated for June 2023

  29. Updated for May 2023

  30. Updated for April 2023

  31. Updated for March 2023

  32. Updated for February 2023

  33. Updated for January 2023

  34. Updated for December 2022

  35. Updated for November 2022

  36. Updated for October 2022

  37. Updated for September 2022

  38. Updated with corrected August 2022 Public Sector Finances release

  39. Updated for August 2022

  40. Updated for July 2022

  41. Updated with June data

  42. Updated with May data.

  43. Updated with April bulletin.

  44. Updated with March data.

  45. Updated for February 2022

  46. Updated for January 2022

  47. Updated with Public sector finances: December 2021

  48. Updated for November 2021

  49. Updated for October 2021

  50. Updated for September 2021

  51. Updated with corrected August 2021 Public Sector Finances release

  52. Public sector finances: August 2021 added

  53. updated for July 2021

  54. Updated for June 2021

  55. Updated with Public sector finances: May 2021

  56. Updated with Public sector finances: April 2021

  57. Updated with Public sector finances: March 2021

  58. Public sector finances: February 2021 added

  59. Updated with Public Sector Finances for January 2021

  60. Public sector finances: December 2020 and Public sector finances tables: December 2020 files added.

  61. Note: Public sector finances: November 2020 pdf and Public sector finances tables: November 2020 excel spreadsheet uploaded.

  62. Added September Public sector finances bulletin and tables.

  63. Updated with 'Public sector finances: August 2020'

  64. Updated with Public sector finances bulletin: July 2020.

  65. Updated with 'Public sector finances: June 2020'

  66. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances May 2020' release.

  67. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances April 2020' release.

  68. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances March 2020' release.

  69. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances February 2020'.

  70. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances January 2019'.

  71. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances December 2019'.

  72. Updated with November's bulletin.

  73. Updated with data for October 2019. Correction note removed as it is no longer applicable.

  74. Updated with corrected September 2019 Public Sector Finances release.

  75. Updated with ONS announcement regarding the September 2019 Public Sector Finances release.

  76. Updated with data for September 2019.

  77. Updated with data for August 2019.

  78. Updated with 'Public sector finances bulletin' July data.

  79. Updated with Public Sector Finances: June 2019

  80. Updated with June's forecast.

  81. Updated with data for April 2019.

  82. Updated with data for March 2019.

  83. Updated with data for February 2019.

  84. Updated with 'Public Sector Finances: January 2019'

  85. Updated with 'Public sector finances: December 2018' and 'Public sector finances tables: December 2018'.

  86. Updated with November's public sector finance bulletin.

  87. Updated with October data.

  88. Updated with 'Public sector finances: September 2018'.

  89. Updated with 'Public sector finances: August 2018'.

  90. Updated with 'Public sector finances: July 2018'.

  91. Updated with Public sector finances: June 2018

  92. Updated with Public Sector Finances: May 2018.

  93. Updated with April data.

  94. Updated with March data.

  95. Updated with February data.

  96. Updated with January data

  97. Updated with December data.

  98. Updated with November data.

  99. Updated with October data

  100. Updated with September data

  101. File updated to correct an error in the estimation of local government and public sector net borrowing in 2016 and 2017.

  102. Updated with August data

  103. Updated with July data

  104. Updated with June data

  105. Updated with May data

  106. Updated with April data

  107. Updated with March's data

  108. Updated with February's data

  109. Updated with January's data

  110. Updated with December's data

  111. Updated with November's data

  112. Updated with October data

  113. Updated: Public Sector Finances; September 2016 pdf

  114. Updated with data from September

  115. Updated with: Public sector finances August 2016

  116. Updated with: public sector finance bulletin (July 2016)

  117. Updated with: Public Sector Finances June 2016

  118. Updated with: Public Sector Finances May 2016

  119. updated with april stats

  120. Updated with March 2016

  121. Updated February's PDF with bulletin as well as tables.

  122. Updated with February's bulletin.

  123. error in table REC3 corrected

  124. updated with January figures

  125. updated with december files

  126. Updated with November figures.

  127. Updated to include October's returns

  128. September bulletin added.

  129. Updated with August 2015 figures

  130. Updated for July 2015

  131. Updated with June 2015

  132. Updated with May's public sector finances statistical bulletin.

  133. April bulletin uploaded

  134. Latest monthly public sector finance bulletin (March 2015)

  135. Updated version

  136. Updated version

  137. Updated to include December 2014 outturn

  138. Updated for November return

  139. Updated with the latest monthly public sector finance bulletin (October 2014)

  140. September public sector finances published

  141. updated for August

  142. updated for July

  143. updated for june

  144. updated with May bulletin

  145. updated with April bulletin

  146. added March bulletin and tables

  147. February 2014 release published

  148. updated with january bulletin

  149. updated with new bulletin

  150. updated with november release

  151. added October bulletin

  152. Update for August release

  153. August update

  154. June update

  155. update for may

  156. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page