Office for Budget Responsibility

House of Lords written question – answered at on 17 June 2010.

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Photo of Lord Myners Lord Myners Labour

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Office for Budget Responsibility was formally established; what legal form it takes; and how that ensures its independence.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office for Budget Responsibility reports to and takes instructions from HM Treasury Ministers.

Photo of Lord Sassoon Lord Sassoon The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was set up on 17 May 2010 to operate on an interim basis for the emergency Budget. The interim OBR comprises a three-person independent Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC), supported by a Civil Service secretariat. Its legal form is that the BRC members are appointed as advisers to the Treasury and the secretariat is part of the Treasury. Sir Alan Budd, as chair of the interim BRC, will be advising the Chancellor on the arrangements for the permanent OBR, including its legal form.

The terms of reference for the interim OBR, published on 8 June alongside a Written Ministerial Statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out its relationship with HM Treasury Ministers and describe the interim OBR's independence. In particular, they make it clear that the independent BRC makes the key judgments underpinning forecasts and has discretion over what material is published. Copies are available in the Vote Office and have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.

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