Charter for Budget Responsibility — Objective of Balancing Public Finances as Early as Possible in the Next Parliament — 24 Jan 2017 at 17:59

The majority of MPs voted for the objective of returning the public finances to balance at the earliest possible date in the next Parliament.

The motion supported by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That the Charter for Budget Responsibility: autumn 2016 update, which was laid before this House on 17 January, be approved.

The charter states the Treasury’s objective for fiscal policy is to:

• return the public finances to balance at the earliest possible date in the next Parliament

and the objective is to be achieved by:

• a target to reduce cyclically-adjusted public sector net borrowing to below 2% of GDP by 2020-21
• a target for public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP to be falling in 2020-21
• a target to ensure that expenditure on welfare in 2021-22 is contained within a predetermined cap and margin set by the Treasury at Autumn Statement 2016

Debate in Parliament |