During the run-up to Budgets and other policy statements, we subject the Government’s draft costings of tax and spending measures to detailed challenge and scrutiny. We then state in the Economic and fiscal outlook and the Treasury’s costing documents whether we endorse the costings that the Government finally publishes as reasonable central estimates. Our approach to the costings process, including the roles of the Treasury and other relevant departments, and how we incorporate the impact of policy measures in our forecasts is described in Briefing Paper No.6: Policy costings and our forecast. We have also written a small number of working papers on evaluating costings and forestalling.

At each fiscal event, we produce an annex in the Economic and fiscal outlook on the announced policy measures since the previous event and an accompanying uncertainty ratings database where we assign each certified policy costing a subjective uncertainty rating. We also update our database of policy measures since 1970.

Policy measures database

March 31, 2023 – 3.62 MB
  • March 2012

    All policy costings presented to the Office for Budget Responsibility at Budget 2012 were scrutinised and certified.  The Budget 2012 policy costings document sets out the methodologies underpinning these various costings.  The OBR identified costings for policy measures which it deemed to be particularly uncertain – these are listed in annex B of the policy costings document.  In this annex we also set out the policy measures which have been assumed to affect the OBR economy forecast.

    Read more in the policy costings document.

  • November 2011

    The Office for Budget Responsibility certified all of the costings of policy decisions announced at the Autumn Statement (and measures announced post-Budget 2011 but confirmed at the Autumn Statement).  For information about these costings see the Autumn Statement 2011 policy costings document.  Annex A of this document contains further detail about the OBR scrutiny and certification process.

    Read more in the policy costings document.

  • March 2011

    At Budget 2011 the Office for Budget Responsibility certified all but one policy costing presented to it by the government.  All Budget 2011 costings are detailed in the HMT policy costings document.  Our approach to the certification of costings is set out in annex B of the document.

    Read the Policy Costings document

  • October 2010

    The Office for Budget Responsibility certified costings for some Annually Managed Expenditure measures included within the October 2010 Spending Review. The costings we scrutinised are set out in the HM Treasury Spending Review Policy Costings document. Our certification is contained in Chapter 3.

    Read the Policy Costings document