Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2022 to Question 78647, what recent discussions he has had with the Office for Budget Responsibility on the Public Sector Net Debt.

As the Government’s official independent forecaster, the Government has a close working relationship with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In the lead up to the recent Autumn Statement and accompanying OBR forecast, the OBR were engaged in the normal way. As is set out in the foreword of the OBR’s November Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), the forecast process involved the OBR producing multiple draft iterations of the forecasts which it shared with the Chancellor. These drafts included forecasts for Public Sector Net Debt. The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also met with the OBR to discuss the forecast on the 17 October and 16 November.

The OBR published an updated forecast for Public Sector Net Debt as part of their November 2022 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The OBR forecast that Public Sector Net Debt for 2022-23 will be £2,571 billion or 101.9% of GDP.

The Government supports the vital, independent role the OBR plays, which give markets, the public, and the world confidence that our economic plans are credible, and rightly holds us to account for delivering them.