PwC comments on Public Sector Finance data - August 2026

Commenting on the latest ONS public sector finance data, Jake Finney, Senior Economist at PwC UK, says:

“July’s public finance figures were a little weaker than forecast, with borrowing £2.3 billion above the OBR’s projection for the month. Borrowing over the financial year so far also remains above forecast, although the gap is relatively modest given that the OBR’s March projections pre-dated the US-Iran conflict and its economic impact.

“Attention will soon turn to the Autumn Budget, when we will get more clarity on the government’s fiscal plans. The Prime Minister may have changed, but the fiscal arithmetic has not. The same difficult trade-offs remain, including the unresolved question of how to pay for higher defence spending.

“Financial markets have so far been relatively calm about the change in leadership. While there have been some additional spending commitments in recent weeks, these have been small compared with the wider fiscal challenges. However, as we have seen in recent years, markets can become jittery when uncertainty over the public finances rises in the run-up to a Budget.”