LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government bond market is well placed to absorb the higher debt issuance needed to fund the new Labour government's budget plans, the head of the country's debt agency told Reuters on Wednesday. The UK Debt Management Office revised up its gilt issuance plans for this financial year by 19.2 billion pounds ($24.9 billion) to 296.9 billion pounds, a shade more than the 294 billion pounds expected in a Reuters poll of gilt dealers. "The gilt market has a very strong track record, including this year, in adjusting to changes in gilt supply. And we expect that this remit revision will be absorbed smoothly by the market," DMO CEO Jessica Pulay said. Issuance this year is on track to be the second highest on record, behind only that in 2020/21 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pulay took the top job at the DMO in July, succeeding Robert Stheeman who spent 21 years at the agency's helm.