Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of fiscal uncertainty on levels of business confidence.

Ensuring fiscal stability is a core part of delivering economic stability and providing a strong foundation for growth. The Government has been clear that the fiscal rules are non-negotiable.

We also introduced a series of responsible reforms to the fiscal framework that improve certainty, transparency and accountability, such as committing to one major annual fiscal event to provide certainty for families and businesses and introducing a ‘fiscal lock’ to ensure no government can announce fiscally significant measures without being subject to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The Government monitors a wide range of indicators to assess the UK’s economic performance, including measures of business confidence.