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Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015

25 November 2015

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Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the 2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review to the House of Commons on Wednesday 25 November.

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, responded on behalf of the Opposition.

Transcripts of proceedings in the House of Commons Chamber are available three hours after they happen in Today’s Commons Debates.

Autumn Statement 2015

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the Budget Statement on Wednesday 8 July 2015, 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).

In September, the Chancellor wrote to the OBR asking them to publish revised forecasts for the economy and the public finances on 25 November, making this a joint Spending Review and Autumn Statement.

Related information

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 briefing paper 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 Autumn Statement includes UK economic growth forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

HM Treasury

HM Treasury will publish financial documents and a copy of the 2015 Autumn Statement on its website.

The Treasury’s Twitter feed will include all of the latest information on 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.