The OBR paints a bright picture of UK economic prospects

Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, comments on today’s Budget: 

“The OBR paints a bright picture of UK economic prospects, believing the recession is already over and that growth will gather pace, ending the year at above trend levels. On these forecasts inflation is beaten, with inflation set to halve in coming months and running well below 2.0% next year. 

“Consumer spending power is expected to rise this year, rather than shrink as previously expected. As referenced by the Chancellor today, Deloitte’s most recent CFO Survey showed that business confidence is returning, as sentiment among UK CFOs rose for the second consecutive quarter.                                                                                                           

“A better outlook has enabled the Chancellor to make tax cuts worth almost £13 billion this year, providing an additional boost to the economy. The OBR thinks the government will probably meet its own debt reduction rule, but it is forecast to do so by an extraordinarily narrow margin - and one that will require significant further cuts to large areas of public expenditure through the next Parliament. The path to lower levels of public debt remains hugely uncertain.” 

Ends 

Note to editors

You can follow us on Twitter: 

@DeloitteUK for live comment

Deloitte spokespeople

Deloitte has a range of spokespeople available to comment on today’s Spring Budget. They can be reached on 020 7007 3333 or 0207 303 5054 or one of the following numbers:

• Debapratim De - senior economist (07884 765916)

• Amanda Tickel - head of tax policy (07920 270 964)

• Rachel McEleney - personal tax (07826 891 752)

• Zubin Patel - corporate tax (07586 511 104)

• Michael Nicolaides - employment tax (07768 178264)

• Richard Johnson – business rates (07774 337 581)

• Toby Price – stamp duty (07774 337 581)

• Gareth Pritchard – indirect tax (07586 511 104)

About Deloitte

In this press release references to “Deloitte” are references to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”) a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NSE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

For more information, please visit www.deloitte.co.uk.