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The Spring Statement of the British Government, also known as the "mini-budget", is one of the two statements
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
makes each year to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
upon publication of economic forecasts, the second taking place the previous year as the Autumn Budget. At 2016's autumn statement, it was announced the budget would move to the autumn, with a spring statement taking place the following year. Both usually involve speeches in the House of Commons by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. The Spring Statement for 2019 took place in March 2019. In 2020 the spring statement was upgraded to a full budget following cancellation of autumn 2019's budget. and additional statements were made in
summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
and autumn 2020. In 2021 the spring statement was also replaced by a full budget.


History

The duty to publish two annual economic forecasts was created by the
Industry Act 1975 The Industry Act 1975 (c. 68) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by Harold Wilson's Labour government. Background The Labour Party manifesto for the October 1974 general election stated: A new and urgent Industry Act wi ...
, with the first such publication occurring in December 1976. The first Autumn Statement combined the announcement of this publication with any announced changes to national insurance contributions and the Government's announcement of its spending plans (and publication of the Red Book), both of which were also made at approximately the same time in the parliamentary year. In 1993, Conservative Chancellor
Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...
combined the announcement of spending with the Budget, merging tax and spending announcements. Doing so moved the Budget to November. To fulfill the legal obligation to make two statements, Clarke began the practice of making a Summer Statement focusing on economic growth forecasts. Unlike the Autumn Statements preceding them and the Pre-Budget Reports that replaced them, Summer Statements took the form of debate on a motion "that this House welcomes the publication of the Government's latest economic forecast, which..." rather than as a statement to the House of Commons. In 1997, Labour's new Chancellor,
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
, moved the Budget back to spring and replaced the second statement with the Pre-Budget Report (PBR). According to the "Code for Fiscal Stability", published by
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
in November 1998, the PBR was intended to "encourage debate on the proposals under consideration for the Budget". The PBR included a report on progress since the Budget, an update on the state of the national economy and the Government's finances, and announcements of proposed new tax measures and consultation papers. Conservative Chancellor
George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
replaced the PBR and its policy announcements in 2010 with a new Autumn Statement focusing on economic growth and government finances as projected by the
Office of Budget Responsibility The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is a non-departmental public body funded by the UK Treasury, that the UK government established to provide independent economic forecasts and independent analysis of the public finances. It was formally c ...
(OBR). Osborne's 2015 statement on 25 November was a joint Autumn Statement and
Spending Review A spending review, or occasionally a comprehensive spending review, is a governmental process in the United Kingdom carried out by HM Treasury to set firm expenditure limits and, through public service agreements, define the key improvements that t ...
, and included a new forecast by the OBR. In 2016, Conservative Chancellor
Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019, Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and Defence Secretary from 2011 to 2014. ...
announced his intention to end the Autumn Statement: instead of a Budget in the Spring, and an Autumn Statement, there will instead be a Budget in the Autumn, and a Spring Statement, with the first on 13 March 2018.


List of statements


Previous statements

The statement has been held in the past during different seasons and with alternate names: *Autumn Statement (1976–1992, 2010–2016) *Summer Statement (1993–1996, 2020) *Pre-Budget Report (1997–2009) *Winter Economy Plan (2020)


References

{{Reflist


External links


Pre-Budget Reports, 1997 to date
at HM Treasury
Pre-Budget Report coverage
by the ''Daily Telegraph''
Pre-Budget Commentary
by the
Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's aim is to "a ...
Fiscal policy Debates in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Government of the United Kingdom United Kingdom budgets Annual events in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1976