It was established in 2010 by the then chancellor George Osborne with the aim of improving the credibility of the government’s official forecasts for growth. “The UK economy has slowed this year as households’ real incomes and spending have been squeezed by higher inflation. The persistence of weak productivity growth does not bode well for the UK’s growth potential in the years ahead,” the OBR said, in a gloomy assessment of Britain’s economic prospects. In its latest assessment for the health of the economy, the OBR finally abandoned its previously consistent view that productivity growth would return to its pre-crisis trend of about 2% a year. It now expects productivity growth of just 0.9% this year, rising to 1.2% in 2022, with a knock-on effect on overall economic growth.

Source: The Guardian November 22, 2017 21:56 UTC