Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to pages 134-5 of the OBR’s report entitled Fiscal risks and sustainability, published on 8 July 2025, what discussions she has had with the OBR on for what reason it categorised the rapid development and dissemination of artificial intelligence’s impact on productivity as uncertain.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is required to prepare an analysis of the sustainability of the public finances annually, known as a Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report (FRS), as set out in the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act (BRNAA) 2011.

In the OBR’s latest FRS, published on 8 July 2025, it noted that if productivity grows faster than expected it could significantly improve the outlook for the public finances.[1] The content of the FRS is determined independently by the OBR.

[ 1 ]Fiscal risks and sustainability report, Office for Budget Responsibility, July 2025, p. 134.