The Chancellor has commissioned the OBR’s forecast for 31 October, and will publish the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan on the same date.
See an excerpt from the Chancellors letter below:
I have previously written to inform you that an economic and fiscal forecast will be
published alongside the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan on 23 November. I have decided to
bring this date forward to 31 October.
This forecast, in addition to the forecast that will be commissioned in spring, will fulfil
the obligation for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to produce at least two
forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.
Upon my arrival in office, I received preliminary analysis from the OBR, but I have since
made significant policy announcements including the Growth Plan. It is important that a
forecast includes a full and final assessment of the impact of policy measures on the
economy and public finances and, as such, it would not be appropriate to publish the
initial analysis that the OBR provided.
The new forecast date on 31 October will allow the OBR to capture data releases, such
as the recent Quarterly National Accounts and Blue Book revisions. It will allow for a full
forecast process to take place to a standard that satisfies the legal requirements of the
Charter for Budget Responsibility enacted by Parliament and that also provides an indepth assessment of the economy and public finances. And it will provide time for the
Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to be finalised. In the meantime, the Prime Minister and I met
with the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee on Friday 30 September to discuss the
economic and fiscal outlook, and we will continue to work closely together throughout
the forecast process and beyond.