Should the government reduce public sector borrowing?

In May 2024 The International Monetary Fund warned Britain's government that it was on course to miss its debt target and said tax rises, rather than cuts, were likely to be needed to repair the public finances after the COVID pandemic and the surge in energy prices. Net borrowing excluding state-controlled banks was 20.5 billion pounds ($26.05 billion) last month, 1.5 billion pounds more than in April 2023, official data showed on Wednesday. It was higher than the median estimate of 19.3 billion pounds in a poll of economists which was also the expectation of the government's budget forecasters.