The latest borrowing figure was the second-highest June figure since monthly records began in 1993, the ONS added, behind only June 2020, which was heavily affected by the pandemic.
Dennis Tatarkov, senior economist at KPMG UK, said the data “piles more pressure on public finances”.
“Furthermore, the longer-term outlook for public finances remains difficult. Recent U-turns on welfare and persistent growth headwinds could open a gap against fiscal targets, which could require further tax rises or spending cuts in the Autumn Budget.”
The ONS said interest payments on government debt rose to £16.4bn in June 2025, which was nearly double the amount paid at the same point last year.
The increase is due to a pick-up in the rate of inflation, with interest payments on some government debt linked to the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation.
Borrowing in the first three months of the current financial year has now reached £57.8bn. While this is an increase of £7.5bn from the same period in 2024, it is in line with what the Office for Budget Responsibility, the official independent forecaster, had predicted.
Despite this, Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, warned that “things will probably get worse for the chancellor”.
“We think that she will need to raise £15-25bn at the Budget later this year, with higher taxes doing most of the heavy lifting.”
Expectations are increasing that Reeves will have to raise taxes in the autumn in order for the government to fund its spending commitments, and last month she refused to rule out tax increases.
The chancellor is following two main rules, which she has argued will bring stability to the UK economy: