Who we are

Budget Responsibility Committee

The OBR is led by the three members of the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC). They have executive responsibility for the core functions of the OBR, including the judgements reached in its forecasts. They are:

Photograph of Richard Hughes

Richard Hughes

Chairman

Formerly Director of Fiscal Policy and Acting Chief Economist at HM Treasury, Division Chief in the International Monetary Fund, Research Associate at the Resolution Foundation, Advisor to the French Government, and Visiting Lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris and the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford.

Photo of Charlie Bean

Prof. Sir Charlie Bean

Formerly the Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England, President of the Royal Economic Society and adviser to the Treasury. Currently holds a Professorship at the London School of Economics.

Photograph of Andy King

Andy King

Formerly Chief of Staff at the OBR for five years, and head of the Fiscal Policy team and Macroeconomic Coordination & Strategy team at HM Treasury. A technical adviser to the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department since 2014.

Permanent staff of the OBR

The BRC are supported in their work by the OBR’s permanent staff of 36 civil servants, led by Steve Farrington. The staff work in teams covering: economic forecasting and analysis; fiscal forecasting and analysis; welfare forecasting and analysis; sustainability analysis; and strategy, communications and operations. OBR staff vacancies are advertised openly where possible and applications for externally advertised posts are welcome from both inside and outside the civil service.

Oversight Board

The OBR’s Oversight Board ensures that effective arrangements are in place to provide assurance on risk management, governance and internal control. It consists of the three members of the BRC, plus two non-executive members, currently Sir Christopher Kelly and Bronwyn Curtis OBE.

Advisory panel

The OBR’s Advisory Panel of economic and fiscal experts meets regularly to advise the OBR on its work programme and analytical methods. The current members are: Professor Wendy Carlin (UCL), Kevin Daly (Goldman Sachs), Carl Emmerson (Institute for Fiscal Studies), Jonathan Gillham (PwC), John Llewellyn (Llewellyn Consulting), Professor Andrew Scott (LBS), Professor Peter Spencer (York and ITEM Club), Professor Coen Teulings (Cambridge) and Professor Simon Wren Lewis (Oxford).

Organisational chart of the OBR May 2021