P123 CEEFAX 2 123 Fri 21 Jan 22:14/44
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    
                                        
 GOVERNMENT PLUNGES OVER £9bn INTO RED  
 The public sector budget deficit surged
 to more than £9bn last month, twice the
 figure expected by City experts.       
                                        
 The shortfall was the biggest monthly  
 deficit since March 1996 and the       
 biggest December figure since records  
 began in the 1984/85.                  
                                        
 The deficit compared with one of just  
 under £2bn in November.                
                                        
 The December figure was distorted by   
 Government debt interest payments and a
 sharp drop in tobacco duty receipts.   
                                        
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