The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is right to point to the uncertainties in the economic and fiscal forecasts. However, the Government would be prudent not to focus on the OBR’s upside scenario at the expense of failing to prepare for its central and downside scenarios. We re-iterate our earlier conclusion that “the Chancellor should, at the next fiscal event, set out an initial roadmap of how he intends to place Government finances on a sustainable footing.”

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is right to point to the uncertainties in the economic and fiscal forecasts. However, the Government would be prudent not to focus on the OBR’s upside scenario at the expense of failing to prepare for its central and downside scenarios. We re-iterate our earlier conclusion that “the Chancellor should, at the next fiscal event, set out an initial roadmap of how he intends to place Government finances on a sustainable footing.” Type: conclusion | Number: 2 | Paragraph: 27 | Response status: no_published_response