Philip Hammond has already signalled a softening in deficit cutting plans since taking over as chancellor BEN STANSALL/AFPThe government’s deficit-cutting plans fell further off-target today as official figures showed it borrowing a larger than expected £10.5 billion in August. Strong tax receipts were more than offset by higher than expected spending. The overall underlying public-sector borrowing figure was an improvement on the £11.5 billion borrowing in August 2015 but still £300 million more than analysts had been expecting. So far this fiscal year the government has reduced borrowing by 12.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2015. However the Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility have been targeting a 23 per cent reduction for the…

Source: The Times September 21, 2016 10:52 UTC