LONDON, Oct 10 — British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng brought forward his medium-term fiscal plan and the publication of independent budget forecasts to October 31, more than three weeks earlier than previously scheduled, the Treasury said today.
The plan had been due on November 23 to build on a “mini-budget” in September in which Kwarteng announced £45 billion (RM231 billion) of tax cuts. It triggered a rout in financial markets when he provided no details on how they would be funded.
The market turmoil heaped pressure on Kwarteng to act faster to set out how the government would pay for tax cuts, and what their long-term impact would be.
In a letter to parliament’s Treasury Select Committee, Kwarteng said the new date would allow the Office For Budget Responsibility (OBR) enough time to assess updates to official data and for a full forecast process to take place.
The new, earlier date will also allow the Bank of England to understand the government’s tax and spending plans before it announces its next interest rate decision on November 3.
Kwarteng has previously said the OBR would not have had enough time to produce satisfactory forecasts for his September 23 announcement, although the OBR has contradicted this.
Kwarteng also said today the new date would allow time for the government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to be finalised. — Reuters
