Office for Budget Responsibility

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK's independent fiscal watchdog, created in May 2010 by the coalition government of David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Its main job is to produce official economic and fiscal forecasts, scrutinise public finances, and assess the government's progress against its fiscal targets. The OBR gained statutory footing in 2011, operating at arm's length from the Treasury, which provides its funding. It is one of a growing number of independent fiscal institutions worldwide, modelled partly on the US Congressional Budget Office.

The OBR is led by a three-member Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC). The founding chair was Robert Chote, who served from 2010 to 2020. Richard Hughes took over in 2020 but resigned in December 2025 after a leak of the 2025 budget. The current BRC includes Professor David Miles CBE, who was nominated for reappointment in July 2024. An Oversight Board, chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly since June 2017, provides governance. The OBR employs around 30 to 50 staff and is headquartered at 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AF, with a presence on the Darlington Economic Campus.

Twice a year, the OBR publishes the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which contains its central forecasts for growth, inflation, employment, and public borrowing. It also produces a Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report examining long-term pressures on the public finances, alongside forecast evaluation reports and same-day briefings on official statistics. The OBR's assessments carry significant weight in political and financial circles, though it has faced criticism at times, for instance, over repeated reductions in productivity growth forecasts in 2017 and 2025, and questions about its genuine independence from government influence. The November 2025 budget leak, which led to Hughes's resignation, was a notable controversy. [edit]