Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Living Standards: OBR Growth Forecasts

Tuesday 19 December 2023 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The OBR revised up its growth figures, indicating the economy had recovered more fully from the pandemic than expected, with real GDP nearly 3% higher than predicted in March forecasts.
  • The provisional local government finance settlement is above what is expected to be the inflation rate next year, and billions of pounds have been put into councils this year.
  • No decision has been made about the household support fund, and an average of 3,700 per household has been allocated to help people during a difficult time.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Justin Madders Lab Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Economy
Context

The MP is questioning the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised economic forecasts.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the OBR's growth forecasts on living standards?

Answer from Laura Trott

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.

Answered
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Q2 Kerry McCarthy Lab Bristol East
Economy Local Government
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.

Question

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?

Answer from Laura Trott

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific impact on constituents' living standards was not fully addressed

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Q3 Lloyd Russell-Moyle Lab
Housing Benefits & Welfare Local Government
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.

Question

Will the Minister reconsider scrapping the household support fund so that councils can continue to provide essential support for those in need?

Answer from Laura Trott

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The reconsideration request was not directly addressed

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Q4 Justin Madders Lab Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Employment
Context

The MP is raising concerns about the enforcement of the national minimum wage, with one in five people not receiving the legal minimum.

Question

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?

Answer from Laura Trott

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The enforcement commitment was not directly addressed

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Q5 Greg Smith Con Mid Buckinghamshire
Economy
Context

The MP is challenging the reliability of Office for Budget Responsibility's economic forecasts, questioning their accuracy.

Question

Is not the more fundamental problem with the question posed by Opposition Members the fact that the OBR's forecasts are never right?

Answer from Laura Trott

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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