There is both better news and gloomy news from the public finances although Chancellor Philip Hammond is unlikely to be dancing a jig round the Treasury sofa anytime soon.

The gloomy news came in the form of last week’s forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility which predicted huge pressures on the public finances for the near and long-term future, mainly from age-related costs in health, pensions and social care and so far no means of funding them. Better news came on 20 July from the Office for National Statistics’s figures for June which showed borrowing – the deficit – falling to its lowest level for 11 years. The deficit is now 1.9% of GDP compared to its peak of 10% in 2009/10. Of particular importance was that all of this borrowing was for capital spending while revenue borrowing for day to day activities was actually in surplus for the first time since 2002.