Lower borrowing may give Chancellor the fiscal ammunition to tackle soaring energy bills 25 January 2022 Commenting on the latest ONS public sector finances data for December 2021, James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “As we await further evidence of the impact of Omicron on economic activity, today’s figures suggest that the latest wave has not had a huge effect on the public finances so far, with borrowing in December broadly in line with the OBR forecast. “Borrowing for the first nine months of the financial year is now £13 billion lower than the OBR’s October forecast, mainly reflecting the stronger-than-expected post furlough scheme labour market. This fiscal room for manoeuvre makes it inevitable that the Chancellor will set out a plan to deal with the cost of living crunch. “With soaring energy bills set to push over six million families into fuel stress, a targeted package to limit the rise in energy bills is the top priority, with the majority of gains from a delayed National Insurance increase going to the richest fifth of households.”
