The Treasury Committee has urged the government to provide assurance that it is
not 'flying blind' into a potential Emergency Budget this September.
In a letter sent to Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Mel Stride, Chair of the Treasury
Committee, asked whether the Treasury is working with the Office for Budget
Responsibility (OBR) on a forecast to be published with any potential Emergency
Budget that may be announced.
The Treasury Committee has outlined to the Chancellor that an OBR forecast would
need to include all changes to government policy and economic and fiscal data up
to when the new Prime Minister takes office.
The government usually gives the OBR ten weeks' notice of a fiscal event, such as
a Budget, to allow officials to provide an independent forecast of the economy
and the UK's fiscal position.
In the letter, Mel Stride said:
'As a committee, we expect the Treasury to be supporting and enabling the OBR
to publish an independent forecast at the time of any significant fiscal
event, especially where, unlike other recent fiscal interventions, this
might include significant permanent tax cuts.
'Whether such an event is actually called a Budget or not is immaterial. The
reassurance of independent forecasting is vital in these economically
turbulent times. To bring in significant tax cuts without a forecast would
be ill advised. It is effectively 'flying blind'.'
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