In the few years since the ‘once in a century’ shock caused by a global pandemic, rising health-related economic inactivity from 2020, energy prices from 2021 and interest rates from 2022 have placed further pressure on an already-challenging outlook for the public finances – pushing public debt above 100 per cent of GDP and the cost of servicing it to a 40-year high. Against this more vulnerable backdrop, an ageing society, a warming planet, and rising geopolitical tensions no longer loom in the distance but pose significant fiscal risks during this decade, and could push debt above 300 per cent of GDP by the 2070s.
"It is the duty of the Office to examine and report on the sustainability of the public finances"