Borrowing assessments should be cut to one a year, IMF suggests
By: | Published: 2025-07-25 12:35:00 | Source: www.bbc.com
The UK government’s finances should be assessed only once a year to avoid “overly frequent” changes to policy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested.
At the moment, the government’s independent forecaster – the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – currently assesses if the government is on course to meet its limits on borrowing twice a year.
This year changes in its forecast for the economy, driven by rises in global and domestic government borrowing rates, led to Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing £5bn in health-related welfare cuts.
However, the cuts were then reversed after a Labour backbench revolt last month.
The influential IMF, as part of its annual health check of the UK economy, said the best solution would be for the government to allow greater room for…