Office for Budget Responsibility

• ), Chairman of the Board of Directors at Navy Federal Credit Union, has announced his retirement from the board.
• VADM Lockard served on the Navy Federal board for 30 years, and for the past 29 years, has chaired the board and its executive committee.
• I have eternal admiration for the members and employees of Navy Federal Credit Union.
• I leave with high confidence that the members of Navy Federal are in the best hands to receive the highest possible value from their credit union.”
  Navy Federal Credit Union: Established in 1933 with only seven members, Navy Federal now has the distinct honor of serving over 12 million members globally and is the world’s largest credit union.

• BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Wi-Tronix, LLC is eager to announce another new 2022 appointee to its Board of Directors: DJ Stadtler.
• Stadtler comes to Wi-Tronix with over 20 years experience in the rail sector and will be critical asset to the next chapter of Wi-Tronix's success.
• DJ Stadtler currently serves as Executive Director at the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA).
• "I am thrilled to have Mr. Stadtler join our Board of Directors," said Larry Jordan, President and CEO of Wi-Tronix.

• Spring Budget 2020 was presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Parliament on 11 March.
• Once the Chancellor sat down the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published updated forecasts in its Economic and fiscal outlook.
• The Budget comes at a time when concerns are rising about the public health and economic impacts of the coronavirus.
• The Chancellor has delivered the Budget within the rules for the public finances set out in the Conservative manifesto.

House of Commons Library

Spring Budget 2020: Background briefing

• This briefing sets out the background to Spring Budget 2020 which will take place on 11 March 2020.
• The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish revised forecasts for the economy and public finances on the same day.
• A Budget was planned for autumn 2019, but it was delayed by the 2019 General Election.
• The Budget comes at a time when concerns are rising about the public health and economic impacts of the coronavirus.

Economic situation

• China is deeply intertwined in global supply chains and makes up around 16% of global economic output.
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says that even if the virus is relatively contained the world economy will grow slower in 2020 than in 2019.
• The OECD forecasts that economic growth in the UK may slow from 1.4% in 2019 to 0.8% in 2020 in this scenario.
• If the outbreak is not contained and has a deeper impact on other economies, world economic growth in 2020 may halve according to the OECDs analysis.
• Ultimately, the economic effects of coronavirus in the UK are intrinsically linked to the spread of the disease itself and the response of authorities, businesses and consumers to it.

Regional economic inequalities

• The Government has pledged to level up economic conditions and opportunities across different regions of the UK.
• This is in response to regional economic inequalities throughout the UK.
• Current regional development policy is based on the principle of localism.
• London and the South East account for 37% of the UKs economic output.
• They present a more nuanced and less unequal regional picture (partly due to redistribution through the tax and welfare system).

Government borrowing and debt

• Government borrowing has decreased from the peaks reached following the 2007-2008 financial crisis and is now at a more typical level.
• The Government wants an infrastructure revolution and is willing to borrow to pay for it, particularly at a time when its cheap for the Government to borrow.
• Government debt broadly speaking, the stock of past borrowing increased following the 2007-2008 financial crisis and remains relatively high.
• Despite high levels of debt, governments debt interest costs have remained relatively low.

New fiscal rules for the public finances

• The Chancellor will propose new rules, or targets, to guide how he will manage the public finances.
• Once approved by Parliament, the new fiscal rules will replace the current set of rules, which the Johnson Government inherited.
• The 2019 Conservative manifesto proposes a set of rules that are looser than the current set.

Government’s day-to-day spending 

• The Spending Round in September 2019 set spending limits for Government departments in 2020/21.
• The 2019 Conservative manifesto includes further smaller increases in day-to-day spending for the next four years.
• A multi-year Spending Review is expected in 2020, which will set departments budgets for several years after 2020/21.
• It is possible that the Budget will include the total spending envelope that will be shared between departments at the Spending Review.

Infrastructure 

• The Governments plans for infrastructure investment will be set out in the National Infrastructure Strategy, which will be published alongside the Budget.
• The Strategy will also include details of infrastructure to help meet the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• Investing in infrastructure is seen by the Government as a way to help level up economic growth and productivity across the country.
• The Government is prepared to spend 20 billion extra a year on investing in infrastructure and to borrow more to do so.

Tax

• The biggest in terms of revenue raised keeps the corporation tax rate at 19% thus cancelling the planned decrease to 17%.
• The most significant tax cut would mean individuals start making National Insurance contributions on their earnings over 9,500.
• A Digital Services Tax is set to be introduced in April 2020 and the Chancellor may take steps towards reforming Entrepreneurs relief a tax break for business owners.
• Some issues with the tax relief received on pensions contributions may be addressed.



Commons Briefing papers CBP-8842