The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has taken the unusual step of requesting economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) without setting a date for the next Budget.
In a Written Statement to Parliament, the Chancellor said that he had asked the OBR to provide the forecasts in “mid to late November” – a move which, in effect, rules out a Budget before then as the forecasts are a pre-requisite for a Budget.
According to the Treasury, the Budget date has not yet been decided but the forecasts have been requested in case the Chancellor wishes to deliver a Budget before Christmas, while also allowing the Budget to be delayed until the spring.