In March, private sector borrowing hit £18.2bn, but in the previous months this was down, coming in over the year at £126bn. It is thought that a VAT rise to 20% and government spending cuts are the main reasons behind why the target was met.

These figures do not include interventions such as bank bail outs.

Net debt, excluding the effect of government interventions, topped £1 trillion, the equivalent of 66% of gross domestic product.

Overall though, this will come as good news for the Treasury and the government, as figures released tomorrow could show that our economy is officially in recession once again. Figures released then will show how the economy performed in the first quarter of 2012, after a 0.3% contraction in the last months of 2011.

Tom Vosa from National Australia Bank told the BBC, "The issue going forward is if growth remains weaker, which we believe it will do, than the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) forecasts, then how much further progress will the government make in consolidating finances?"