How to check a claim about the UK national debt

Updated 2026-10-13

Edited by Mistabilda, Editor

The UK's official measure of the national debt is public sector net debt, published monthly by the ONS. To check a claim, confirm whether it means debt (the total owed) or borrowing (the yearly deficit), whether it is in cash or as a share of GDP, and which month it refers to. Debt in cash rises in most years, while debt as a share of GDP can fall at the same time: in August 2026 debt was £78.5 billion higher than a year earlier but 1.3 percentage points lower as a share of GDP.

Step 1: debt or borrowing?

These are often confused:

Borrowing (public sector net borrowing, the deficit) is the gap between spending and income in a period. See PSNB .

Debt (public sector net debt) is the total stock owed, built up by past borrowing. See PSND .

"The government is paying down the debt" would need debt to fall in cash, which requires a surplus. "The deficit is falling" means borrowing is smaller than before, while debt still rises.

Step 2: open the latest public sector finances

The ONS publishes Public sector finances, UK each month. The August 2026 bulletin, released on 22 September 2026, says:

"Public sector net debt ... was provisionally estimated at £2,985.5 billion at the end of August 2026, £78.5 billion more than a year earlier."

"Debt at the end of August 2026 was equivalent to 93.8% of GDP, 1.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier and at levels last seen in the early 1960s."

Borrowing was £18.3 billion in August 2026 and £77.3 billion in the financial year to August, "£8.1 billion above the OBR forecast".

The next release is due on 21 October 2026. For the latest figures see our net debt key figure and borrowing key figure .

Source: Public sector finances, UK

Worked example: "debt is higher than ever" and "debt is falling"

Both statements can draw on the same bulletin:

In cash , debt rose by £78.5 billion in a year, to just under £3 trillion. Cash debt rises in almost every year with a deficit, so a new cash record is common.

As a share of GDP , debt fell from about 95.1% to 93.8%. The ONS explains: "The reduction in debt-to-GDP ratio reflects nominal GDP growing faster than public sector net debt".

A precise description: "Public sector net debt was £2,985.5 billion at the end of August 2026, up £78.5 billion on a year earlier, but down 1.3 percentage points to 93.8% of GDP (ONS, provisional)." Without the measure, neither "higher than ever" nor "falling" tells the reader much. See percentage points and nominal GDP .

Step 3: compare with the OBR forecast

Claims that borrowing is "higher than planned" compare outturn with the OBR's forecast. The ONS bulletin gives the gap directly, and the OBR publishes a short commentary on each monthly release. On 22 September 2026 the OBR said borrowing in the first five months of 2026-27 was "£8.1 billion above the monthly profile consistent with our March forecast", driven by "£7.4 billion of higher-than-forecast central government spending in the year-to-date, driven by net social benefits and debt interest". Monthly profiles are uneven through the year, so a gap after five months does not mean the full-year figure will miss by the same amount.

Source: OBR

Step 4: check which debt measure

The ONS publishes several balance sheet measures:

Public sector net debt (PSND) , the headline. The bulletin notes that figures "exclude those banks classified to the public sector between October 2007 and May 2024". It includes the Bank of England, so quantitative easing affects it; see quantitative easing .

Public sector net financial liabilities , a wider measure including more assets and liabilities: £2,620.4 billion, or 82.3% of GDP, at the end of August 2026.

General government gross debt , the international definition used by the IMF and OECD. Use this for comparisons with other countries; see how UK debt compares .

A claim about "the debt" in the context of the fiscal rules may refer to a different measure again, so check the Budget or OBR document it cites; see fiscal rules .

Step 5: check historical comparisons

Long-run comparisons should use debt as a share of GDP. The ONS bulletin's chart of net debt runs from the financial year ending March 1901, using the OBR's public finances databank for history. That is the source for the bulletin's statement that the current ratio is at levels last seen in the early 1960s. For the long-run data itself, see how to find historical UK statistics .

Step 6: check debt interest claims

The OBR's March 2026 Economic and fiscal outlook says the cost of servicing the debt rose "from £39 billion (1.7 per cent GDP) in 2019-20 to £106 billion (3.6 per cent GDP) in 2024-25". The same document says net interest costs, after interest received, are "partially offset" by higher interest and dividend receipts. Check whether a claim uses gross debt interest or net interest, and the year. See debt interest spending and gilts .

Source: March 2026 Economic and fiscal outlook

Step 7: allow for revisions

Recent months are provisional. The August 2026 bulletin notes that "each September, we incorporate annual data updates and methodological improvements", and that estimates of debt as a share of GDP are "susceptible to revision" because GDP is revised too. Quote the release date with any figure. See how to understand revisions .