George Osborne 'sticking to debt plan' despite target worries Iain Duncan-Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is resisting calls to take further huge cuts out of the welfare budget and many departments are struggling to identify areas where further savings can be made. However, senior sources said Mr Osborne has not taken any decision to axe targets, despite speculation he will have to do so. It is understood the Treasury is hopeful that the borrowing for the year will not be as high as many economists expect. Some economists are sceptical the targets will be achieved as Britain is borrowing more than expected. Shock figures for July showed a big rise, driven by lower corporation tax receipts and higher welfare spending. In this month alone, the deficit grew by £600 million, rather than falling by £2.8 billion. Experts from Citigroup, the investment bank, estimates the Chancellor will need to borrow £48 billion more than forecast in 2015 to 2016. Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics, has said the Chancellor is now set to "massively overshoot" forecasts for bringing down borrowing made by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).