Autumn Statement 2013
5 December 2013
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the 2013 Autumn Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 5 December 2013.
The Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, responded to the statement on behalf of the Opposition. Other MPs from all sides of the House also questioned the Chancellor on the contents of the statement.
Autumn Statement 2013
On 20 March 2013 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the Budget Statement 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, and the Government's Autumn Statement were published on 5 December.
- Office for Budget Responsibility (external website)
- GOV: UK: Autumn Statement 2013: documents (external website)
Related information
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 Autumn Statement includes UK economic growth forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
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.
Watching debates from the public gallery
UK residents and overseas visitors can watch proceedings in the House of Commons by visiting the public gallery.
This article was produced by the Commons Digital Outreach Team. Follow the @HouseofCommons on Twitter for updates on the UK House of Commons Chamber.