Policymakers should stop blaming the UK’s independent economic forecaster when forced to make difficult decisions amid tight public finances and high government debt, MPs have warned.
The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) independent voice "must be protected rather than castigated" and calls for fundamental reform to its functions or independence should be rejected, the Treasury Committee warned in a report today (23 September). Calls for reform have often been fuelled by a desire for additional spending capacity, but the committee's MPs said this is a "poor substitute" for communicating a clear economic policy and having the courage to make tough decisions. "The potential reform of the OBR must be subject to a high bar, given the risk of undermining both it...
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