"[Government debt] shows the unsustainable level of spending this country built up over the past few years"
- A Treasury spokesperson
U.K. budget deficit decreased to 10.8 billion pounds in December from 15.1 billion in November, said the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday. Net debt has risen to a record 1 trillion pounds from 883 billion a year ago.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "That our national debt has reached more than one trillion pounds simply shows the unsustainable level of spending this country built up over the past few years, and shows why it is critical for our nation's future that we deal decisively with the deficit."
"Today's figures show that we are making good progress, with borrowing over 11 billion pounds lower than in the same period last year."
Vicky Redwood, senior economist at Capital Economics, said the overall debt level was "a reminder of the enormity of the challenge that still lies ahead to get the public finances back on a sustainable footing".
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