Budget watchdog to deliver forecasts next week after emergency meeting with PM
The UK’s independent fiscal watchdog has confirmed it will deliver an initial forecast for the government’s so-called mini budget on 7th October after an emergency meeting with the chancellor and prime minister today.
In a statement the Office for Budget Responsibility said: “[The forecast] will as always, be based on our independent judgement about economic and fiscal prospects and the impact of the government’s policies.
The announcement comes after a 48-minute meeting at No 11 Downing Street this morning.
The spokesperson added that OBR officials 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 timetable up to 23 November next week,” they added.
Markets were rocked by the Chancellor’s ‘growth plan’ last week which was provided without accompanying forecasts from the OBR.
MPs and Ministers have been piling pressure on the watchdog this week to bring forward an official forecast after it said it would deliver initial forecasts in November.
Tory MP and chair of the Treasury Select Committee Mel Stride said this morning that the OBR would demand a “rethink” of the plans.
“You cannot come forward with multiple billions of tax cuts in a high inflationary environment with a very tight labour market and expect that, along with various supply-side changes to develop the growth, that’s going to pay for those tax cuts,” he told BBC Radio 4.
News of the OBR’s meeting with the PM and chancellor sent the pound lower again on the dollar, after it had recovered much of the losses sparked by the governments tax cutting plans this morning.