UK economy
Office for Budget Responsibility: Fiscal Sustainability Report
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its first annual Fiscal Sustainability Report (FSR) on 13 July 2011. The FSR helps to inform the public on the long-term challenges facing the UK's public finances.
The Treasury published an Unaudited Summary of the Whole of Government Accounts for the year 2009-10 on 13 July 2011. The Government made available the key balance sheet analysis contained in this summary to enhance the analysis of the sustainability of the public finances in the FSR.
The OBR’s long-term projections show that without future policy change the UK will spend an increasing proportion of GDP on public services for the elderly as a result of changing demographics. This is in line with the findings of previous analysis presented by the OBR in their November 2010 Economic and fiscal outlook. The conclusions of their analysis further support the case for the government’s long term fiscal reforms, including reforms to public sector pensions and the state pension age.
The OBR was formed in May 2010 to examine and report on the sustainability of the public finances. The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 requires it to produce an analysis of the sustainability of the public finances at least once in each financial year. The FSR meets these requirements. The establishment of the OBR marks a step change in the transparency and openness of economic and fiscal policy making.
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