The Chancellor remains on track to meet a deficit reduction target this year, as official borrowing figures showed corporate "resilience" since the Brexit vote helped to boost tax receipts.

Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, stood at £6.9bn in December 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While this was slightly higher than the £6.7bn borrowing figure expected by economists, it was £0.4bn lower than the same month in 2015.

The ONS reported a broad increase in tax receipts last month compared with a year earlier, as corporation tax rose 12.4pc to £4bn and national insurance receipts climbed 10.1pc to £10.6bn.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) noted on Tuesday that growth in corporation tax receipts remained stronger than its full-year forecast, which "could reflect the resilience of sales growth since the [EU] referendum"

Official profits data were also "notably strong", the Government's independent fiscal watchdog said, though it cautioned that the data are volatile and often revised.