Official figures show the British government borrowed a larger-than-expected amount of money in March.

Britain's net public sector borrowing, excluding financial interventions such as bank bailouts, amounted to 18.2 billion pounds (29.3 billion U.S. dollars) in March, the Office for National Statistics announced on Tuesday.

However, the government's estimated borrowing for 2011-2012 fiscal year was revised down to 125.97 billion pounds, below its initial target of 126 billion pounds.

Compared to the 2010-2011 fiscal year, annual borrowing reduced by almost 11 billion pounds.

Net government debt, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, was 1 trillion pounds, equivalent to 66 percent of GDP.

The reduction in the public borrowing was made with the help of tax increases, such as the hike in VAT from 17.5 percent to 20 percent, and cuts in government spending.

Britain will unveil new measures to further limit public spending as part of its efforts to meet its austerity targets.

Under the new rules, government departments will have to set aside 5 percent of their annual budget to cover unexpected expenses in a bid to discourage them from asking for more money from the central government when emergencies arise.