Hammond no longer on track to budget balance, says OBR | UK news



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Philip Hammond will allow the government to spend more time and money on the future.

The chancellor is sanctioned by a 1.2% to 1.4% in the annual deficit between this year and 2019/20 as it is sought to honor the prime minister to boost spending on health, local authority housing and a freeze on fuel duty.

Over the next five years, Hammond has authored £ 30bn of extra spending and tax cuts that he may have kept for a rainy day, according to the Treasury's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Much of this extra spending came in the form of Hammond's commitment to public services, which was promised an extra 1.2% a year starting in 2020/21, and a 3% a year cut between 2010 and 2015, and 1.3% a year squeeze since then.

The extra spending cheered Tory backbenchers, keen to see the end of eight years of spending cuts, but undermined Hammond's attempt to Brexit deal.

The OBR said it was in danger of losing money to the top two years ago, the OBR said it was in danger of missing one of its two rules.

Robert Chote, chairman of the OBR, said: "If he had sat on his hands and done nothing, [the chancellor] would have reached its goal of balancing the budget by 2025, which is in the legislation and is something he must do. But looking at the outlook now, it does not look like it.

Chote said the public finances had performed better than the OBR and outside forecasters expected in March, even though the economy has grown less quickly.

Forecast GDP growth of 1.3% predicted in March for this year to 1.6%, while in 2019-20 and 2020-21 it is projected to hit 1.4%. In 2021-22, growth is expected to be 1.5%, and 1.6% in 2022-23.

The OBR's predictions predict that they are more likely to come into the market than they are, bringing higher wages and tax receipts.

Chote said the OBR was more pessimistic about the likelihood of big improvements in productivity going forward than the Bank of England. So while wages are expected to improve, the OBR said these are still unlikely.

Torsten Bell, the director of the resolution foundation, said the cumulative effect over the last five years, but this budget would still not be able to reach austerity.

"The chancellor has set up plans to spend almost all of a large amount of money on the NHS. But unprotected departments are still running for the 2020s, averaging 3% between 2019 and 2023. "

Hammond said he would meet his second rule, which is to bring down the total debt-to-GDP ratio from 85%. He told MPs that it would fall into the next five years, to reach 74.1% in the 2023/24 financial year.

The ratings agency Moody's, which recently downgraded Italy following its budget battle with the EU, joined in the Hammond for some of the gains from a improving economy. A spokeswoman, Sarah Carlson, said: "Today's budget confirms our expectation that we will see a material reversal in the UK's high debt levels for some time. predictable future.

"Brexit negotiations presents a high level of uncertainty over the economic outlook."

Dan Burke, a public sector analyst at the PwC accounts, said Whitehall chiefs would be pleased with the plans but would be able to provide a sketchy outline of spending plans ahead of a full review next year.

"Public service leaders will be pleased to receive additional credit, universal credit, roads, housing and defense. But all the big decisions will have to wait until next year's spending review, "he said. "The end to austerity in public spending will depend on a Brexit 'deal dividend' that the Chancellor hopes will be enjoying by next spring."

Day-to-day government spending is already in surplus

The government will be borrowing to fund public spending after spending 20.5bn by 2022/23.

Borrowing this year will be $ 11.6bn less than forecast at the spring statement, following the bumper tax receipts and lower than expected Whitehall spending. The annual deficit will fall to 1.2% of GDP, but will rise as a percentage of GDP to 1.4% in 2019/20 and will stay above 1% until 2022/23, when it will drop to 0.9% and 0.8% in 2023 / 24.

Strip out public investment spending on road, rail and other infrastructure projects and the deficit is becoming a surplus. This indicator has shifted to investment spending by the government and has had a significant impact on the economy.

The definition used for day-to-day government spending – the cyclical current budget deficit – shows it is already in surplus and will continue for the next five years.

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