The latest data from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that public sector net borrowing, excluding borrowing in public sector banks, in December 2023 was £7.8 billion. That is about £8.4 billion less than was borrowed in December 2022 — and the lowest December borrowing since 2019.
Central government debt, according to ONS, was at £4 billion, £14.1 billion less than in December last year and the lowest December figure since 2020. The decline was largely due to a drop in the Retail Prices Index, according to a news release.
Also, borrowing in the financial year-to-December 2023 was £119.1 billion, £11.1 billion more than in the same nine-month period the previous year, and the fourth-highest financial year-to-December borrowing on record.
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, chief executive–Management Accounting at AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, said that while any improvement in the UK’s public finances is welcome, the government should consider the bigger economic picture.
“One of the key reasons for the improvement we see in today’s figures is fiscal drag, meaning more people are finding themselves paying higher rates of tax as income tax bands have not risen in line with wage inflation,” Harding said in a statement. “This is neither sustainable nor desirable. In the long run, increasing the tax take through fiscal drag has a negative effect on productivity, as highlighted in AICPA & CIMA’s tax and productivity report.”
Harding said that if the UK does not remain competitive with its peers, it will lose out on the investment and talent needed to build “the high-productivity businesses of the future”.
Global Reporting Initiative revises biodiversity standard
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) revised its biodiversity standard to build on key global developments in the field, such as the formation of the UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Science Based Target Network (SBTN), and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
“As nature faces unprecedented pressures, with human activity the leading cause for 1 million animal and plant species being pushed to the brink of extinction, GRI has today published a major update to its biodiversity standard,” a news release said.
The revised standard aims to deliver:
- Full transparency throughout the supply chain — often where the most significant impacts on biodiversity can go under-reported.
- Location-specific reporting on impacts — including countries and jurisdictions, with detailed information on the place and size of operational sites.
- New disclosures on the direct drivers of biodiversity loss — covering land use, climate change, overexploitation, pollution, and invasive species.
- Requirements for reporting impacts on society — including those on communities and indigenous people, and how organisations engage with local groups in the restoration of affected ecosystems.
The standard will be formally in effect for reporting on 1 January 2026.
GRI and IFRS Foundation publish emissions reporting guidance
The GRI and the IFRS Foundation jointly published a new analysis and mapping resource: Interoperability Considerations for GHG Emissions When Applying GRI Standards and ISSB Standards.
The resource aims to support more efficient reporting for companies when using both standards.
It illustrates the areas of interoperability a company should consider when measuring and disclosing Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with both GRI 305, Emissions, and IFRS S2, Climate-Related Disclosures, a news release said.
“The requirements in GRI 305 and IFRS S2 demonstrate a high degree of alignment. For example, both draw on the GHG Protocol,” the release said. “The alignment means companies that already disclose Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions using the GRI Standards will be well positioned to report information about GHG emissions in accordance with IFRS S2. In addition to this, other GHG emissions disclosures can be aligned, depending on the choices a company makes in applying GRI 305 and IFRS S2.”
UK government issues new guidelines to boost cyber resilience
A draft resource on cybersecurity governance from the UK government is designed to help directors and senior leaders shore up their defences from cyber threats.
A key focus of the government’s Code of Practice is making sure companies have detailed plans in place to respond to and recover from any potential cyber incidents.
“The guidance comes as figures show almost one in three firms (32%) have suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past year,” a news release said, “with a rise in damaging ransomware attacks and malicious actors posing significant threats as they look to take advantage of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”
The call for views, which will be open until 19 March, will help to ensure this new Code is straightforward and help to identify potential barriers organisations could face in bringing it into force, the release said.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.