UK borrowing to reach £112.5 billion in 2014: UK trade body

Asgrowth continuesto falter, the UK government is expected to borrow about £75 billion more next year than it had originally planned, reveal figures from the British trade body Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The employers group warns in its latest economic forecast that UK government borrowing in 2014 would reach £112.5 billion – £10 billion more than in its November outlook. By way of comparison, the Treasury predicted in November 2010 that borrowing would be down to only £35 billion in the year to March 2015.

Taken together, borrowing for 2012, 2013 and 2014 would be £21 billion over the CBI's projections three months ago and the increase would come largely due to weaker growth than forecast last November.

The CBI yesterday downgraded forecast growth this year from 1.4 per cent to 1 per cent, but left 2014 unchanged at 2 per cent.

The downgrade notwithstanding, the CBI said it expected avoidance of a triple dip recession as the economy expanded slowly in the first three months of the year.

According to John Cridland, the CBI director general, with trade, manufacturing and business investment expected to pick up in the months ahead, the industry was beginning to see the return of organic growth.