Autumn Statement To Replace Pre-Budget Report

The coalition government have announced plans to replace the Pre-Budget report with a scaled down Autumn statement.

Introduced by Gordon Brown in 1997, its aim was to consult on measures planned for the main Budget the following year but following 2008′s financial crisis, the PBR took on much greater significance.

Investec chief economist Philip Shaw added that he was “not sorry to see it go”. He said:

“The PBR had become a mini-Budget exercise rather than the discussion document on the Budget. On that basis, you have to question whether it was worth effectively having two Budgets in one year. An update on the forecasts is all we really need.”

Mr Osborne’s current focus is on the spending review due on 20 October. This will set departmental budgets until the end of the parliament and implement the coalition’s deficit-cutting programme.

He has said that the Autumn Statement is due in late November/early December. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will, at this time, outline the official economic forecast along with a brief statement.