Chancellor Philip Hammond has abolished the Autumn Statement and will move the annual Budget from Spring to Autumn.
In his first Autumn Statement, Hammond says the move reflects best practice around the world and will allow for more thorough parliamentary scrutiny of tax legislation.
The 2017 Spring Budget will be the last ever, with the first Autumn Budget taking place in Autumn 2017. Thereafter there will be a spring statement responding to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s six-monthly forecasts, but no fiscal changes introduced.
Hammond said: “I am abolishing the Autumn Statement. No other major economy makes hundreds of tax changes twice a year, and nor should we. The Spring Budget of 2017
“In future there will be an Autumn Budget, announcing tax changes well before the start of the tax year. There will be a spring statement, but only in response to the OBR’s forecast. Parliament has mandated that the OBR reports twice a year and we have to respond to that, but there will be no spring fiscal event.
“This change will allow for greater parliamentary scrutiny of tax provisions.”
