Brown boosted by public sector income figures
Cash surplus in public coffers ahead of pre-Budget report
Chancellor
Gordon
Brown has been given a timely boost ahead of the
pre-Budget
report after UK public finances improved in October.
Boosted by the sale of government-owned
BNFL’s Westinghouse nuclear
power subsidiary for £2bn, the public sector reported a net cash repayment of
£8.4bn.
This was substantially higher than the £5bn forecast and double the level in
the same month a year ago.
It was the highest monthly surplus in this figure in October for seven years.
Brown will present the pre-Budget report to Parliament on 6 December.
Further reading:
Grant Thornton: Don’t expect tax cuts in pre-Budget