The Spring Statement has been overshadowed by a week of Brexit votes. But Chancellor Philip Hammond will today give an update on how the economy could fare over the next few years. His predictions are likely to mention the fact the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union in 16 days, but still has not secured a plan for the future relationship between the two.
What time is the Budget?
The Spring Statement will be announced today (Wednesday, March 13).
Mr Hammond’s speech takes place in the House of Commons at 12.30pm and is due to last around 20 minutes.
This will be followed by a debate, which should take two hours.
Will May use it as leverage for her Brexit deal?
The Spring Statement will not include an announcement on tax and spending.
Mr Hammond may mention today how a potential no-deal Brexit could impact his plans to end austerity.
The Prime Minister suffered another defeat on Tuesday after her second Brexit deal was rejected by 149 votes.
MPs will now vote tonight on whether to block the UK from the leaving the EU without a deal on March 29.
What else will be in the Spring Statement?
Mr Hammond will use data released from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to give new financial predictions.
The OBR’S most recent figures showed growth in the UK economy as 0.2 percent in the last three months of 2018.
Britain’s services sector decreased by 0.2 percent in December, while manufacturing lost 0.7 percent and construction went down by 0.3 percent.
John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, blamed Brexit for this.
He said: “There has been increasing evidence since the last OBR forecast in late October that Brexit-related uncertainty has dampened business investment and caused a marked slowdown in the economy. GDP growth was just 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and could be even lower in the first quarter of this year.
“If an orderly Brexit can be achieved, growth could pick up later in the year as business investment comes back on stream. GDP might still only rise by around 1 percent for 2019 as a whole, but could pick back up to around 1.5 percent or more next year. In the event of a less orderly Brexit, the OBR is likely to warn of serious downside risks.
“The latest public finance data suggests the budget deficit could come in close to £20 billion in 2018/19, down from £25.5 billion as forecast by the OBR last October.”
