Treasury denies it plans to drop a key deficit reduction target
GEORGE Osborne has no plans to abandon his target of lowering the national debt as a proportion of GDP by 2015, the Treasury said yesterday.
The chancellor could struggle to meet the goal as borrowing is staying stubbornly high despite his efforts to close the deficit.
The latest figures put the deficit at £47.2bn in the first four months of this financial year, above the £35.6bn in the period a year ago.
However the most recent forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) did show the government hitting the target. Its next forecast comes in December.
“The government is committed to its fiscal policy, which shows our plans meeting our targets,” said a Treasury spokesperson.
“We are not going to start second guessing the OBR forecast that will draw on some months of data that haven’t yet been produced.”