Office for Budget Responsibility

Monday 4th April 2011 Written Statements

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

The provisions of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 which establish the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have been brought into force today. The OBR is now established on a permanent, statutory footing.

The Treasury has also published and laid before Parliament the charter for budget responsibility. This charter addresses the comments made by Members during the passage of the Act. The charter must be approved by the House of Commons before it is brought into force. A debate will be scheduled shortly.

Alongside the charter, the Treasury and the OBR are publishing the OBR’s framework document and memorandum of understanding. The framework document sets out the broad governance and management framework within which the OBR will operate. The memorandum of understanding establishes a transparent framework for co-operation between the OBR, the Treasury and other parts of Government which the OBR will need to work closely with to perform its forecasting and analytical duties.

Each document has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. They are also available on both the Treasury’s and OBR’s websites. Copies of the charter are available in the Vote Office.