Chancellor delivers 2012 Autumn Statement
5 December 2012
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the 2012 Autumn Statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday 5 December 2012.
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ed Balls, responded on behalf of the Opposition.
The Autumn Statement 2012
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered his Budget Statement on Wednesday 21 March 2012, on the state of the national finances, Government's proposals for changes to taxation and growth forecasts.
The Autumn Statement provides the Chancellor an opportunity to update MPs on the Government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR's revised forecasts for the economy and the public finances were also made available on 5 December.
- Office for Budget Responsibility (external website)
House of Commons Library Research Briefing
The House of Commons Library provides research, analysis and information services for MPs and their staff.
The Library has produced a standard note that sets out the economic and public finance background to the Autumn Statement.
Why is there an Autumn Statement?
The Government is legally required to publish a financial report on the state of the economy twice a year. From December 1976 until November 1992, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made an Autumn Statement to the House of Commons in addition to the annual Budget Statement in the Spring.
The Spring Budget and the Autumn Statement were merged and a "unified-Budget" was presented to Parliament in November 1993. The unified-Budget was then replaced in 1997 with the traditional Spring Budget and the publication of a new Pre-Budget Report in the autumn.
The coalition government announced in September 2010 that it would replace the Pre-Budget Report with an Autumn Statement. The new Autumn Statement includes UK economic growth forecasts produced by the newly-created Office for Budget Responsibility.
Further information
HM Treasury have published financial documents and a copy of the 2012 Autumn Statement on its website.
- HM Treasury: Autumn Statement 2012 (external website)