Office for National Statistics · 21 October 2026
UK public finances figures for September 2026: what the ONS reported
The ONS reported that the UK public sector net borrowing was £24.5 billion for September 2026, compared with £17.3 billion for August 2026. A year earlier, for September 2025, it was £22.8 billion.
Every figure in this release
| Measure | Latest | Period before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK public sector net borrowing | £24.5 billion September 2026 |
£17.3 billion August 2026 | +£7.3 billion |
| UK public sector net debt | 94.0% September 2026 |
93.6% August 2026 | +0.4 percentage points |
| UK central government debt interest | £10.9 billion September 2026 |
£8.9 billion August 2026 | +£2.1 billion |
UK public sector net debt was 94.0% for September 2026, compared with 93.6% for August 2026. A year earlier, for September 2025, it was 94.7%.
UK central government debt interest was £10.9 billion for September 2026, compared with £8.9 billion for August 2026. A year earlier, for September 2025, it was £9.4 billion.
Pledges these figures measure
- Labour Party 2024 manifesto: “Deliver economic stability with tough spending rules, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.”
- Labour Party 2024 manifesto: “Debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast.”
The next release is due on 20 November 2026. See the release calendar.
Receipts
The publisher's data files these figures were read from, archived when this page was made, each with its SHA-256 fingerprint.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS): UK public sector net borrowing
- Office for National Statistics (ONS): UK public sector net debt
- Office for National Statistics (ONS): UK central government debt interest
How this page is made: it was written automatically from the ONS's published series on the morning of the release, using fixed sentences that repeat the figures and nothing else. The figure pages update by themselves after that; this page keeps the figures as they were published that day. Every value of public sector net borrowing since records began. To report an error, send a correction request.