Office for Budget Responsibility

What Office for Budget Responsibility does

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is a UK statutory body established in 2010 under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011. Its statutory function is to independently scrutinise the UK Government's fiscal projections and to assess whether the Government is on course to meet its fiscal mandate. It serves Parliament, HM Treasury, and the wider public by issuing independent economic and fiscal analysis. Core products are the twice-yearly Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) and the Fiscal Risks and Sustainability (FRS) Report, which set out central forecasts for GDP, borrowing, debt, and welfare spending, and project long-term debt sustainability through to the 2070s; the FRS identifies welfare, debt interest, and external shocks as principal fiscal risks. The OBR also publishes responses to fiscal announcements, an annual report, and supporting analytical datasets. The OBR does not operate commercially: it is funded by Parliamentary supply, staffed by 51-100 economists and analysts, and led by a Chair supported by the Budget Responsibility Committee. Recent governance stress was triggered by a November 2025 EFO publication error and a subsequent pre-Budget leak, leading to the December 2025 resignation of Chair Richard Hughes and the July 2026 confirmation of Jonathan Haskel as successor. Reappointments of David Miles and Baroness Hogg to the BRC have provided analytical continuity through the leadership transition.

Name

Office for Budget Responsibility

Legal name

Office for Budget Responsibility

Website

https://obr.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Office for Budget Responsibility is a UK statutory body that independently scrutinises the Government's fiscal projections, producing the Economic and Fiscal Outlook and the Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report for Parliament and HM Treasury.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Finance & Fiscal Policy Analysis

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (92113), Public Finance Activities (921130), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (9211)

akta.pro primary industry

Budgeting & Fiscal Planning (BPAIAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Debt Management (BPAIAEAC), Financial Risk, Controls & Audit (Public Sector) (BPAIAEAH), State/Provincial Treasury, Budget & Fiscal Management (BPAIABAC)

Keywords

• Fiscal forecasting
• Macroeconomic analysis
• Budget responsibility
• Public finance assessment
• Fiscal sustainability

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Office for Budget Responsibility provides independent analysis of the UK's public finances to support Parliament's scrutiny of fiscal policy. It produces forecasts of the economy and the public finances that the Treasury is required to use as its official forecasts at each Budget, and it assesses the long-term sustainability of the public finances and the risks to those forecasts.

Product overview

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK's independent fiscal watchdog, operating as a single unified analytical organization that produces economic and fiscal forecasting products. The core offerings include the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) providing medium-term forecasts, the Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report (FRS) with 50-year projections, Forecast Evaluation Reports, Welfare Trends Reports, and monthly public finances briefings. Supporting these are analytical tools like the Ready Reckoner and the OBR Macroeconomic Model, along with devolved tax forecasts for Scotland and Wales, and a research publications suite including briefing papers, working papers, and discussion papers. The organization does not operate a platform-plus-modules architecture but rather publishes distinct report products alongside data tools and methodological resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) The OBR's main twice-yearly (typically three times a year) report setting out the official independent economic and fiscal forecast, assessment against the fiscal mandate, and supporting fiscal tables for the UK public finances, produced for Parliament and the Chancellor.
• Fiscal Risks and Sustainability (FRS) report Annual OBR report examining the long-term sustainability of the UK public finances and the principal economic and fiscal risks to the forecast, including long-term pressures such as health, pensions and climate change.
• Forecast Evaluation Report (FER) Annual assessment of how accurate past OBR forecasts have been, including evaluation of biases in growth, inflation, employment and fiscal forecasts, for parliamentary and public scrutiny.
• Welfare Trends Report (WTR) Annual OBR report providing a deeper look at trends in welfare spending and the size of the welfare system in the medium term.
• Monthly Public Finances Briefing Regular monthly analysis of the latest official UK public finances release, providing contextual commentary and forecasts-based interpretation for Parliament, the media and the public.
• Ready Reckoner Interactive online calculator that lets users apply their own assumptions to the OBR's current forecast and immediately see the resulting fiscal projections, supporting parliamentary and public scrutiny of policy measures.
• Devolved Tax and Spending Forecasts OBR forecasts of the revenues from taxes devolved to Wales and the spending in devolved policy areas, supporting the Welsh fiscal framework.
• Welsh Taxes Outlook Annual OBR report setting out forecasts of the Welsh rates of income tax, land transaction tax, landfill disposals tax and landfill communities tax, alongside devolved public spending forecasts.
• Analytical and Discussion Papers OBR working paper series explaining and developing the analytical and modelling methodologies underpinning OBR forecasts, targeted at analysts, academics and other fiscal agencies.
• OBR Macroeconomic Model documentation Documentation and methodology notes on the OBR Macroeconomic Model (including the OLG fiscal framework and cohort projection model) that underpins the OBR's economic and fiscal forecasts.

Quantifiable outcome

• The OBR's forecasts serve as the official basis for assessing government compliance with fiscal rules
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HM TreasurycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe OBR works closely with HM Treasury on economic data, policy assumptions, and fiscal projections. The Chancellor commissions OBR forecasts, and the Treasury provides data and policy information for analysis.
• HM Revenue and CustomscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHMRC provides tax revenue data and forecasting information that underpins OBR's fiscal projections and receipts analysis.
• Department for Work and PensionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWP provides welfare spending data and projections for inclusion in OBR's fiscal sustainability analysis.
• Department of Health and Social CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDHSC provides health spending data and projections for long-term fiscal sustainability scenarios.
• Bank of EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe OBR coordinates with the Bank of England on monetary policy assumptions and economic data. Several BRC members have served on the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee.
• Office for National StatisticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerONS provides demographic data, population projections, and economic statistics that form the basis of OBR forecasting assumptions.
• Institute for Fiscal StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS economists provide expert analysis and commentary on fiscal issues that inform OBR research and methodology development.
• Resolution FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Resolution Foundation provides research on living standards, fiscal policy impacts, and economic inequality that supports OBR analysis.
• Institute for GovernmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIfG provides analysis on government performance and fiscal policy effectiveness that informs OBR research.
• Government Actuary's DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGAD provides actuarial data and analysis for pension spending and demographic projections.
• National Audit OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAO provides audit data and government spending analysis that supports OBR fiscal assessment.
• OECD and IMFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organizations provide comparative economic data and fiscal analysis methodologies for OBR research.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Irish Fiscal Advisory Council: Independent statutory body that assesses Irish fiscal forecasts and the stance of fiscal policy. Comparable to the OBR in its watchdog role over government budgeting and sustainability, though with a smaller national remit.
• Swedish Fiscal Policy Council: Evaluates the Swedish government's fiscal policy against its surplus target and fiscal framework. Functions as an independent fiscal watchdog with a similar assessment-of-fiscal-rules mandate to the OBR.
• Congressional Budget Office: The CBO is the US equivalent of the OBR, providing non-partisan budget and economic analysis to Congress, including baseline projections, cost estimates, and long-term fiscal sustainability outlooks. Functionally and structurally the closest analogue among independent fiscal institutions.
• Parliamentary Budget Officer (Canada): Provides independent analysis to the Canadian Parliament on the state of public finances, the government's budget projections, and the cost of proposed measures. Mirrors the OBR's mandate of serving parliamentary oversight of fiscal policy.
• Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB): Dutch independent economic policy analysis office producing macroeconomic forecasts and policy assessments used by government and parliament. Shares the OBR's profile of producing medium-term economic projections and structural policy analysis.

Broad incumbents

• German Council of Economic Experts (Sachverständigenrat): Independent council of economists advising the German government on macroeconomic developments and fiscal policy. Broader mandate than OBR (covers all economic policy) but shares the role of producing authoritative independent economic analysis for government and parliament.
• European Fiscal Board: Independent advisory body providing fiscal policy evaluation at the EU level, including assessment of the EU fiscal framework's implementation. Operates at supranational scale but shares the OBR's mandate of evaluating fiscal sustainability and rules compliance.

Others

• Bank of England: UK's central bank, with which the OBR coordinates on monetary policy assumptions and economic data, and whose former MPC members sit on the OBR's Budget Responsibility Committee. Adjacent institution with parallel forecasting expertise in monetary rather than fiscal policy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OBR_UK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjB9vzZPgjCNftVFEgOajeg
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/office-for-budget-responsibility

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Office for Budget Responsibility