Has Osborne got £20billion to play with? Boost for Chancellor as borrowing set to fall below expectations George Osborne handed major boost ahead of Autumn Statement Fall in borrowing spurred by higher corporation tax receipts, £1.7billion windfall from privatisation of Royal Mail and pick-up in pace of growth By Rob Davies Government borrowing is on course to fall up to £20billion below expectations this year, handing a boost to George Osborne Government borrowing is on course to fall up to £20billion below expectations this year, handing Chancellor George Osborne a major boost ahead of next month's Autumn Statement. Economic watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility is this week expected to slash its borrowing forecasts for the year from £120billion to as little as £100billion. The surprise fall in borrowing has been spurred by higher corporation tax receipts, a £1.7billion windfall from the privatisation of Royal Mail and a pick-up in the pace of growth. The OBR is also expected to more than double its growth forecasts for the year from 0.6 per cent to 1.4 per cent, when it delivers its latest health check on the UK economy this Thursday. The upgrade will be a shot in the arm for Mr Osborne as he prepares to deliver next month's Autumn Statement, the annual economic presentation that has come to be seen as a scaled-down version of the Budget. The lower borrowing figure also means Mr Osborne could have as much as £20billion to spend on giveaways such as a fuel duty freeze or help for families struggling with soaring energy bills. Improvements in the outlook for borrowing and growth would be the latest in a string of signs that the UK economy is getting back on its feet. Confidence among UK businesses is higher than in any other major advanced economy including the United States, Europe and Japan, according to a report released today. The findings, by research group Markit, show that UK firms are more upbeat about their prospects than they have been since the survey was launched nearly eight years ago. Britain has emerged as one of the best performing economies in the West in recent months. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney last week declared that the UK is enjoying "one of the strongest recoveries in the advanced world." "For the first time in a long time, you don't have to be an optimist to see the glass as half full," he said. The UK economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of the year - a stronger rise in output than seen in the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy or Spain. Unemployment has fallen to 7.6 per cent, its lowest rate since early 2009, and a record of nearly 30million people are now in work. Mark Carney last week declared the UK is enjoying 'one of the strongest recoveries in the advanced world' The recovery has been led by the private sector as the government battles to rein in the bloated public sector which ballooned under Labour. The Bank of England last week raised its UK growth forecasts for this year from 1.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent and for next year from 2.5 per cent to 2.8 per cent and said unemployment was falling faster than expected. But despite the flurry of encouraging updates, household finances remain under pressure. Appetite for spending has hit its lowest level in 2013 during November, according to a separate survey from Markit. Almost 42 per cent of households expect to be worse off in 12 months" time, while some 33 per cent said they had less cash to spend during November. And retailer Asda said family finances have not improved since this time last year, with last week's surprise fall in inflation offset by higher energy bills and meagre wage inflation. "This weak wage growth is essentially cancelling out the benefits of falling inflation and means that consumers are not feeling any better off," said Asda.