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Net debt tops 100 per cent of GDP for first time since 1960s

Public sector net debt stood at 100.1 per cent of GDP in May 2023, topping 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in 62 years. Borrowing in the first two months of 2023-24 totalled £42.9 billion, almost double the same period last year and £2.1 billion above the monthly profile consistent with our…

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Andy King to step down from Budget Responsibility Committee

Andy King will step down as fiscal expert on the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee following the conclusion of his five-year term at the end of August. Andy joined the OBR in 2013 as Chief of Staff and was appointed to the BRC in 2018. Before that, he worked in the Treasury in a variety of…

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Debt interest and energy subsidies raise budget deficit

Borrowing in April 2023 of £25.6 billion was £3.1 billion above our March 2023 forecast profile – thanks to both slightly lower-than-expected receipts and slightly higher-than-expected spending – and almost double the £13.7 billion figure from a year ago. This year-on-year increase largely reflects higher inflation pushing up spending on debt interest payments (£3.1 billion…

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Fiscal risks and sustainability 2023 due 13 July

Our latest report on Fiscal risks and sustainability (FRS) will be published on Thursday 13 July. The 2023 FRS report will focus on three current pressures on the public finances: Inactivity and health, where we will consider the role of health in explaining the recent increase in labour market inactivity, analyse its impact on tax…

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Monthly profiles for 2023-24

We have published monthly profiles for receipts, spending and borrowing in 2023-24, consistent with our March 2023 Economic and fiscal outlook, below and alongside our monthly commentary on the public finances.

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Publication of Working paper No.18: Emissions and our tax forecasts

Several of the UK’s tax bases are directly linked to activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions, with others indirectly linked. So as emissions fall as the UK transitions to net zero, receipts generated from these emissions-linked taxes will be affected. In this working paper, we conduct an initial, high-level analysis to explore the proportion of…

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Summer 2023 review of the supply-side effects of policies

In November 2022, in Briefing Paper No. 8: Forecasting potential output – the supply side of the economy, we described the framework we use when assessing whether and how to incorporate the impact of policy measures on our forecast for potential output (the ‘supply-side’ of the economy). We have applied this framework in our November…

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2022-23 budget deficit lower than March forecast

The initial full-year estimate of government borrowing in 2022-23 is £139.2 billion, an £18.1 billion increase on the 2021-22 figure but £13.2 billion lower than our March forecast. This difference was driven by central government spending (£8.1 billion lower than forecast), local authorities net borrowing (£3.2 billion below forecast) and public corporations net borrowing (£6.9…

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The OBR’s advisory panel – expressions of interest

The Office for Budget Responsibility established an advisory panel of leading economic and fiscal experts in 2011 to help develop and scrutinise its work programme and methods. Since the establishment of the panel, we have held regular meetings in which we have discussed the content of each of our core publications, as well as the…

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Energy support measures raise borrowing in February

Government borrowing in February 2023 was £16.7 billion, up £9.7 billion on last year, largely thanks to spending on energy schemes. Year-to-date borrowing of £132.2 billion is up £15.5 billion (13.2 per cent) on last year. But it is only up £6.9 billion (5.9 per cent) on a like-for-like basis (correcting for student loans figures…

Policy costings March 2023

March 2023 All policy costings presented to the Office for Budget Responsibility at Spring Budget 2023 were scrutinised and were certified as reasonable, central estimates and were included in our forecasts. The Government’s Spring Budget 2023 policy costings document briefly describes the methodologies underpinning these costings. In our March 2023 Economic and fiscal outlook we have published an assessment on the…

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Chancellor uses fiscal windfall to address persistent supply-side challenges

The economic and fiscal outlook has brightened somewhat since November. The near-term downturn is set to be shallower; medium-term output to be higher; and the budget deficit to be lower. But persistent supply-side challenges remain. Against this backdrop, the Chancellor has spent two-thirds of the improvement in the fiscal outlook on his Budget measures, providing…