In a letter to the Treasury, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has stated that it will publish forecasts for the UK’s public finances despite cancellation of the 6 November Autumn Budget.
The OBR highlighted the fact that the forecasts were prepared on the basis that the government secured a Brexit deal. With the recent news of another Brexit delay, the forecasts will be updated with corrections made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which significantly adjusted the March forecasts for public borrowing.
Borrowing in 2020-21 would be roughly £19 billion more than the OBR’s March forecast originally predicted, claims the ONS.
Quote from Nigel Holland:
“It is a good thing that we are going to see some financial forecasts despite the scrapping of Novembers Budget. Any information on the state of our economy is beneficial to us all.”