Living Standards OBR Growth Forecasts 2023-12-19
2023-12-19
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP is questioning the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised economic forecasts.
What recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the OBR's growth forecasts on living standards?
The OBR revised up its growth figures after data revisions by the Office for National Statistics indicated the economy had recovered more fully from the pandemic than expected, which means that the current level of real GDP is nearly 3% higher than was predicted in March forecasts.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the Local Government Association's criticism that the provisional local government finance settlement does not provide enough funding to meet cost pressures.
Does the provisional local government finance settlement, which assumes all councils will increase their tax bills by the maximum allowed next year, negatively affect constituents' living standards?
We put billions of pounds into councils this year, and the provisional settlement is above what is expected to be the inflation rate next year. If specific issues exist with a local council, it will be addressed.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific impact on constituents' living standards was not fully addressed
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the removal of the household support fund by the Chancellor, which provides crucial assistance to vulnerable groups in Brighton.
Will the Minister reconsider scrapping the household support fund so that councils can continue to provide essential support for those in need?
No decision has been made about the household support fund. This year, an average of £3,700 per household has been pulled in to help people with similar issues during a difficult time.
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Assessment & feedback
The reconsideration request was not directly addressed
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is raising concerns about the enforcement of the national minimum wage, with one in five people not receiving the legal minimum.
Given that one in five people should be getting the national minimum wage but are not, how can we improve living standards when this legal requirement is not being met?
If specific examples of non-compliance exist, they should be reported. The levels of the national minimum wage will increase by 9.8% next year, making a significant difference to households up and down the country.
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Assessment & feedback
The enforcement commitment was not directly addressed
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is challenging the reliability of Office for Budget Responsibility's economic forecasts, questioning their accuracy.
Is not the more fundamental problem with the question posed by Opposition Members the fact that the OBR's forecasts are never right?
All I can say is that they have definitely gone in the right direction, because the economy next year will be billions of pounds bigger than we thought it was going to be in March.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy