Former OBR Chair to give evidence to Economic Affairs Committee

At 3pm on Tuesday 13 January the former Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, Richard Hughes, will give evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee's inquiry on the effectiveness of the UK's fiscal framework and its effect on the Government's fiscal policy.

This session is open to the public and will be held in Committee Room 3 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:

• Has the OBR been a force for good, fiscally speaking, since its inception?
• To what extent do markets care about governments meeting fiscal rules?
• Does the UK have the right fiscal rules given its current economic and fiscal circumstances?
• Was policy tightening at the start of this parliament – as prompted by the fiscal rules – appropriate given the Government's stated ambitions for growth?
• The committee has been told that the current rules incentivise governments to operate without a sufficient fiscal buffer. Does Mr Hughes agree?
• Does the UK do enough to encourage responsible fiscal policymaking in the run up to and during elections?
• Many commentators describe the OBR as policing government policy. Is this a fair assessment?