Call for a second economic forecast

THE UK Government must force the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to take more account of policy "upsides" when assessing an impact on growth, Tony Blair's think tank has said.

- Felix ARMSTRONG

The Treasury watchdog should be required to be bolder in predicting growth to reward more ambitious economic policies, a report by the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) suggested.

The OBR is widely expected to downgrade its economic and productivity forecasts ahead of the Budget, which will likely leave Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a fiscal black hole of more than £20bn.

The report said the Westminster government should force the OBR to produce two forecasts rather than one, which would see it publish its existing independent baseline and a second more optimistic prediction on growth dubbed the "Upside Policies Scenario".