Does the Office for Budget Responsibility play an effective role? Lords committee to ask experts

At 3pm on Tuesday 9 December, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee will hear evidence from:

• Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research, Panmure Liberum
• Rupert Harrison, Senior Advisor, PIMCO
• Sanjay Raja, Chief UK Economist, Deutsche Bank.

This evidence session is part of the committee's inquiry on the effectiveness of the UK's fiscal framework and its effect on the Government's fiscal policy.

The session is open to the public and will be held in Committee Room 2A of the House of Lords. It will also be streamed live and on demand on Parliament TV.

Questions the committee is likely to cover in this session include:

• Does the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and its assessment of the Government's compliance with the fiscal rules assist investors in pricing government debt, or do they add an additional layer of complication?
• Do the UK's current fiscal rules incentivise governments to operate without a sufficient fiscal buffer? If so, how does this affect investor behaviour?
• Should fiscal rules specifically preclude a government having to tighten fiscal policy to meet its targets when economic growth is weak?
• Given the criticisms the OBR has faced, would it be better if its macro forecasts were replaced by the market consensus, especially for productivity growth?
• Is it fair to say that the OBR is policing government policy?