Written question asked by Lord Myners (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Sassoon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 23 November 2010.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the Chancellor formed the opinion that the United Kingdom was on the brink of bankruptcy and what assessment they have made of the closeness and consequences of such a bankruptcy.

Answer: For the information sought on bankruptcy and repayment of debt, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to Lord Barnett on 9 November (Official Report, col. WA 69). The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) remit is determined by its terms of reference (ToR) which state that, "““The OBR will make independent assessments of the economy, public finances and fiscal sustainability””." The ToR task the OBR with producing an updated official economic and fiscal forecast before the end of this year, which the Chancellor has asked the OBR to publish on Monday 29 November. The OBR will also produce the official economic and fiscal forecast for Budget 2011 on Wednesday 23 March 2011.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 4101; 722 c314WA
Session: 2010-12
Related items: Spending Review 2010
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Public finance Public sector debt
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk