"It is the duty of the Office to examine and report on the sustainability of the public finances"
On 9 June, OBR Chair Richard Hughes gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Finance Committee on the future role of an independent fiscal council for Northern Ireland. You can read the report on the Northern Ireland Assembly website or watch on NI Assembly TV.
Government borrowing in April 2021 of £31.7 billion was £15.6 billion below last April and £7.3 billion below the profile consistent with our most recent forecast. The shortfall against forecast mostly relates to the timing of payments to the EU. The underlying outperformance is just £1.8 billion. Compared to last April, at the start of…
Every two years since 2017 the Office for Budget Responsibility produces a report on the fiscal risks facing the UK. We will publish our latest Fiscal risks report (FRR) on Tuesday 6 July. As previously announced, alongside providing updates on significant developments regarding specific risks highlighted in our previous reports, the 2021 FRR will focus…
Since the publication of our March 2021 Economic and fiscal outlook we have received a request for further detail on our betting and gaming duties forecast. We have published this new supplementary forecast information below and on the March 2021 EFO page. We have also published updated monthly profiles below and on our monthly commentary…
Richard Hughes spoke at the conclusion of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research’s (NIESR) ‘Future fiscal frameworks’ event on Monday 26 April, highlighting the lessons of the last decade for economic forecasters.
The initial estimate of government borrowing for the 2020-21 fiscal year of £303.1 billion is roughly double the previous record set at the height of the financial crisis in 2009-10 (£157.7 billion). But it is £24.3 billion below our March forecast on a like-for-like basis (and £51.5 billion below it including loan write-offs that are…
Every two years the Office for Budget Responsibility produces a report on the fiscal risks facing the UK. Our next Fiscal risks report (FRR) is due to be released this summer. This FRR is being prepared in the wake of the largest fiscal risk to have crystallised in peacetime – the coronavirus pandemic – the economic and fiscal consequences of which continue to be felt. It will therefore…
Since the publication of our March 2021 Economic and fiscal outlook we have received a request for further detail on the ‘state pensions underpayment correction’ measure. We have published this new supplementary forecast information below and on the March 2021 EFO page.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rachel Reeves MP and OBR Chair Richard Hughes have exchanged letters on the subject of the economic and fiscal implications of EU exit and impact of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our forecasts. We have published these letters below.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that Bronwyn Curtis OBE has been re-appointed as a non-executive member of the OBR and Audit sub-Committee chair. Bronwyn Curtis said: “I am delighted to be re-appointed to the Oversight Board of the Office for Budget Responsibility. As we emerge from the pandemic, the role of the OBR…