Budd asks for freer OBR
SIR Alan Budd, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), sent a letter to chancellor George Osborne yesterday outlining how the agency should run permanently.
As well as producing two forecasts for the economy and public finances every year, the OBR should do broader work on fiscal sustainability, Budd said. He suggested the unit’s independence be cemented by moving it into a separate office from the Treasury, using a mixture of external recruits and Treasury secondees and giving parliament a role in appointing committee members. The advice follows a controversy over changes to the OBR’s calculations on future joblessness ahead of Osborne’s emergency Budget in June. Budd said: “It will inevitably take time to settle in, but I am confident the OBR will play a substantial part in enhancing the quality of fiscal policy.”