LONDON, May 22 Reuters British public sector borrowing was higher than expected in April, underscoring the challenge facing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt who have said they want to cut taxes further as they face an election this year.

Net borrowing excluding statecontrolled banks was 20.5 billion pounds 26.05 billion last month, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

April39;s borrowing, the first of the 202425 financial year, was higher than the median forecast of 19.3 billion pounds in a Reuters poll of economists.

The ONS slighted raised its estimate for the budget deficit in the last 202324 financial year to 121.4 billion pounds from its initial estimate of 120.7 billion pounds published last month equivalent to 4.5 of economic output, against 4.4 previously.

The fullyear outcome was 7.3 billion pounds more than expected by the Office for Budget Responsibility, whose forecasts under the government39;s fiscal plans. The OBR expects the deficit by the end of the current 202425 year to have narrowed to 87.2 billion pounds, or 3.1 of GDP.

The OBR had also expected smaller borrowing of 19.3 billionpounds in the month of April.

The figures underscored the limited room for Sunak and Hunt for any preelection sweeteners ahead of a national election, due by January 2025 at the latest.

Hunt39;s latest budget published in March met the government39;s fiscal targets by a only slim margin of 8.9 billion pounds.

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