London, November 25th, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak said in a spending review report to Parliament on the 25th that the British economy may shrink by 11.3% this year.
Sunak pointed out that Britain is currently facing a public health and economic dual emergency. The UK government will spend more than £280 billion (about $1.3) this year in response to the coronavirus epidemic, and another £55 billion is expected next year.
Sunak said that government borrowing is expected to reach £394 billion this year, equivalent to 19% of the UK’s GDP. He said that the economic “scars” may persist, and economic output is not expected to return to pre-epidemic levels until the fourth quarter of 2022.
He also said that the British government plans to invest about 100 billion pounds in infrastructure construction next year, strengthen cooperation with the private sector, provide more public services, boost the economy and stimulate employment.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics in the middle of this month showed that the British economy grew 15.5% month-on-month in the third quarter after a record contraction in the second quarter, but fell 9.6% year-on-year.
