George Osborne set to meet deficit target after rise in tax receipts

Government borrowing fell to £6.9bn in February, taking the total this year to £81.8bn

The UK chancellor was handed a pre-election boost after a jump in self-assessed tax receipts triggered the smallest February deficit in seven years, putting him on course to meet his full-year target.

British workers paid £4.2bn in self-assessed income tax last month, £1.8bn more than the same month last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.