"It is the duty of the Office to examine and report on the sustainability of the public finances"
Our latest Forecast evaluation report (FER) will be published at 11am on Thursday 19 October. Our FER examines how our forecasts compare to subsequent outturn data and identifies lessons for future forecasts. This report will focus on how our March 2021 and March 2022 economy and fiscal forecasts for 2022-23 fared against the outturns.
Borrowing in the first five months of 2023-24 totalled £69.6 billion, £19.3 billion above the same period last year but £11.3 billion below the monthly profile consistent with our March forecast. The downside surprise is more than explained by higher central government receipts (£12.6 billion above profile), reflecting stronger nominal tax bases. This was partly…
The Treasury Select Committee has today approved the appointment of Tom Josephs to the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC), following a hearing before MPs on 5 September. Tom will formally begin his appointment later this month, replacing Andy King who stepped down at the end of August. We thank Andy King for his 10 years of…
Since the publication of our July 2023 Fiscal risks and sustainability (FRS) report, we have received a request for further detail on our long-term fiscal projections. We have published this new supplementary forecast information below and on the July 2023 FRS page.
The Chancellor has announced that the Autumn Statement 2023 will take place on Wednesday 22 November. Our latest outlook for the economy and public finances will be released on the same day.
Borrowing in the first four months of 2023-24 totalled £56.6 billion, £13.7 billion above the same period last year but £11.3 billion below the monthly profile consistent with our March forecast. The downside surprise is more than explained by higher central government receipts (£10.4 billion above profile), reflecting stronger nominal tax bases, alongside lower borrowing…
Our latest working paper, The OBR’s forecast performance, provides a comprehensive evaluation of the OBR’s economic and fiscal forecasting record since we were established in 2010. We assess how our 27 forecasts have performed against outturn over the past 13 years and look at how our forecasting record compares to other UK and international forecasters….
In early 2023, we sought expressions of interest for membership of our advisory panel from academics, economists, researchers and industry specialists with expertise in at least one of these six categories: macroeconomics and econometrics; public sector finances and public economics; financial markets and corporate finance; energy and climate change; health and longevity; and labour market…
Borrowing in the first three months of 2023-24 totalled £54.4 billion, £12.2 billion above the same period last year but £7.5 billion below the monthly profile consistent with our March forecast. This downside surprise is more than explained by higher central government receipts (£7.7 billion above profile) thanks to surpluses across the three major taxes…
Richard Hughes distils the key messages from our latest Fiscal risks and sustainability report in his press conference presentation and accompanying speaking note.