Government borrowing in October 2022 was £13.5 billion, £4.4 billion higher than last year – thanks to the first payments from two energy support schemes for households. But year-to-date borrowing of £84.4 billion is down £21.7 billion (20.5 per cent) on last year – thanks to stronger tax receipts and no spending on Covid schemes,…

Richard Hughes distils the key messages from our latest Economic and fiscal outlook in his press conference presentation and accompanying speaking note.  

Over £100 billion of additional fiscal support over the next two years cushions the blow of higher energy prices – but the economy still falls into recession and living standards fall 7 per cent over two years, wiping out eight years’ growth. Over the medium term, around £40 billion in tax rises and spending cuts…

Over the past six months, the global energy and food supply shocks emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have intensified. The further curtailment of Russian imports saw European wholesale gas prices rise ten-fold from pre-pandemic levels, and markets now expect prices to remain four times higher in the medium term. Rising energy, food, and other…

Press briefing We will publish our latest Economic and fiscal outlook (EFO) on Thursday 17 November, once the Chancellor has completed his Autumn Statement in Parliament. Richard Hughes, OBR Chair, will present the main judgements and conclusions of the EFO live on Slido or on our YouTube channel at 2pm. There will be a Q&A…

The Chancellor has announced that the publication of our forecast will be set to a later date of 17 November. That day our latest outlook for the economy and public finances will accompany the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Earlier this month we published a timetable for the 31 October forecast process. We have now amended the…

On 10 October the Chancellor announced that the publication of our forecast will be brought forward to Monday 31 October. That day we will publish our latest outlook for the economy and public finances. In light of the heightened public interest, and in response to the recommendations of our Non-Executive Members’ recent review of the forecast…

The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee met with the Prime Minister and Chancellor this morning. We discussed the economic and fiscal outlook and the forecast we are preparing for the Chancellor’s Medium-term Fiscal Plan. We will deliver the first iteration of that forecast to the Chancellor on Friday 7 October and will set out the full…

In August the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride MP and Chair Richard Hughes exchanged letters regarding the OBR’s preparations for a potential Emergency Budget. Richard Hughes has now updated Mel Stride on the 23 November forecast timetable.

The Chancellor has commissioned the OBR to publish an updated forecast on 23 November alongside the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan. As part of every forecasting process, we provide the Chancellor with a series of interim drafts of our forecasts as an input into policymaking in the run-up to the final, published Economic and fiscal outlook. The Chancellor…

Ian Blackford, MP and SNP Westminster leader, wrote to Richard Hughes on 23 September expressing the need for an urgent OBR forecast update. Richard Hughes responded on 29 September and we have published the two letters below.

We have been commissioned by the Chancellor to produce a forecast for Wednesday 23 November. That day we will release the latest outlook for the economy and public finances.

Borrowing in the first five months of 2022-23 was just £0.2 billion above our March forecast profile, with higher debt interest payments (£9.0 billion above profile) offset by downside surprises elsewhere. But energy bill support measures have yet to have a material effect on the public finances. The May package has so far added £2.4…

Since the publication of our March 2022 Economic and fiscal outlook (EFO) we have received a request for further information into our forecast of income streams subject to self-assessment income tax. We have published this new supplementary forecast information below and on the March 2022 EFO page.

The Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride MP wrote to our Chair Richard Hughes on 23 August regarding the OBR’s preparations for a potential Emergency Budget in September. The Chair replied to his letter on 26 August. We have published both of these letters below. Richard Hughes updated Mel Stride on 29 September about…