Public sector net borrowing for April to September was £6.0bn above the OBR's March forecast, according to official ONS figures. They are the last before the Budget on 28 October. Public sector net debt has also passed £3 trillion for the first time.
Borrowing was £24.5bn in September, £1.9bn above the OBR forecast and £1.8bn more than a year earlier, City AM and Yahoo Finance report. Borrowing for the six months was £97.8bn, against a forecast of £91.8bn.
Debt was provisionally £3,005.0bn at the end of September, or 94.0% of GDP. Central government debt interest was £10.9bn, the highest September figure since monthly records began in 1997.
Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said borrowing "remained below the same period last year" despite being above forecast. That holds up. The six-month total is £4.4bn lower than a year earlier.
The Chancellor, John Healey, said: "We know that price rises from conflicts in the Middle East and Europe are hitting Britain and countries worldwide."
Greg Thwaites, interim chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said the Chancellor faces a "double dilemma" over "how to ease cost of living pressures for families while keeping a lid on Government borrowing".