Kwasi Kwarteng Brings Forward Economic Plan To 31 October

Date Set For 2023-24 Scottish Budget
07/10/2022
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Kwasi Kwarteng Brings Forward Economic Plan To 31 October

The Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, will bring forward his plan for balancing the UK government’s finances by almost a month to 31 October, in a bid to reassure markets.

The economic plan will set out how the chancellor will fund tax cuts and cut debt after his mini-budget plans for extra borrowing rattled investors.

An independent forecast of how the economy will perform in the coming years will be published at the same time.

Mr Kwarteng had initially said he would wait for 23 November to give details.

His refusal to publish a draft report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to accompany the mini-budget on 23 September also rattled markets and some MPs.

In the wake of the mini-budget, the pound slumped to a record low, government borrowing costs surged and the Bank of England was forced to step in and take emergency action after the dramatic market movements put some pension funds at risk of collapse.

The new date means Mr Kwarteng’s fiscal statement will be published before the Bank of England announces its latest decision on interest rates on 3 November.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to raise interest rates for the eighth time since last December with many economists forecasting a sharper rise than previous increases.

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