The Spring Statement of the British Government, also known as the "mini-budget", is one of the two statements HM Treasury makes each year to Parliament upon publication of economic forecasts, the second being the Autumn Statement presented later in the year. 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 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.[1][2] and additional statements were made in summer and autumn 2020.[3] In 2021 the spring statement was also replaced by a full budget.[4]

History

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The duty to publish two annual economic forecasts was created by the Industry Act 1975, with the first such publication occurring in December 1976.[5] 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)[citation needed],[6] both of which were also made at approximately the same time in the parliamentary year.

In 1993, Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke 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.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11]

In 1997, Labour's new Chancellor, Gordon Brown, 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 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.[8]

Conservative Chancellor George Osborne 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 (OBR).[12] Osborne's 2015 statement on 25 November was a joint Autumn Statement and Spending Review, and included a new forecast by the OBR.[13]

In 2016, Conservative Chancellor Philip Hammond 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.[14]

List of statements

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Chancellor Date Type
Geoffrey Howe 8 November 1982[6] Autumn Statement
Nigel Lawson 17 November 1983[15]
12 November 1984[16]
12 November 1985[17]
6 November 1986[18]
3 November 1987[19]
1 November 1988[20]
John Major 15 November 1989[21]
8 November 1990[22]
Norman Lamont 6 November 1991[23]
12 November 1992[24]
Kenneth Clarke 18 July 1994[9] Summer Statement
12 July 1995[10]
17 July 1996[11]
Gordon Brown 25 November 1997[25] Pre-Budget Report
3 November 1998[26]
9 November 1999[27]
8 November 2000[28]
27 November 2001[29]
27 November 2002[30]
10 December 2003[31]
2 December 2004[32]
5 December 2005[33]
6 December 2006[34]
Alistair Darling 9 October 2007[35]
24 November 2008[36]
9 December 2009[37]
George Osborne 29 November 2010[38] Autumn Statement
29 November 2011[39]
5 December 2012[40]
5 December 2013[41]
3 December 2014[42]
25 November 2015[43]
Philip Hammond 23 November 2016[44]
13 March 2018[45] Spring Statement
13 March 2019[46]
Rishi Sunak 8 July 2020 Summer Statement
24 September 2020 Winter Economy Plan
23 March 2022 Spring Statement
Kwasi Kwarteng 23 September 2022 The Growth Plan 2022
Jeremy Hunt 17 November 2022 Autumn Statement
22 November 2023[47] Autumn Statement

Previous statements

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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

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  1. ^ Harding, Latoya; Ashworth, Louis (11 March 2020). "Budget 2020: When is it and what can we expect?". The Telegraph.
  2. ^ Partington, Richard (7 January 2020). "Budget 2020: what will Sajid Javid announce?". TheGuardian.com.
  3. ^ David, Dharshini (7 July 2020). "Can Rishi Sunak save your job? Five things he may do". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Chancellor Rishi Sunak reveals date of next Budget". BBC News. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Economic Prospects (Hansard, 15 December 1976)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 15 December 1976.
  6. ^ a b "The Economy (Hansard, 8 November 1982)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 8 November 1982.
  7. ^ "Politics A–Z: Autumn Statement". BBC Online. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Briefing Guides: Pre-Budget Report". politics.co.uk. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  9. ^ a b "The Economy (Hansard, 18 July 1994)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 18 July 1994.
  10. ^ a b "The Economy (Hansard, 12 July 1995)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 12 July 1995.
  11. ^ a b "The Economy (Hansard, 17 July 1996)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 July 1996.
  12. ^ "George Osborne's Autumn Statement speech in full". Financial Times. 25 November 2015.
  13. ^ Osboure, George (8 September 2015). "Letter to Chairman of the Treasury Committee" (PDF). HM Treasury. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Spring Statement 2018 date confirmed - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  15. ^ "The Economy (Hansard, 17 November 1983)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 November 1983.
  16. ^ "The Economy (Hansard, 12 November 1984)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 12 November 1984.
  17. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 12 November 1985)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 12 November 1985.
  18. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 6 November 1986)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 6 November 1986.
  19. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 3 November 1987)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 3 November 1987.
  20. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 1 November 1988)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 1 November 1988.
  21. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 15 November 1989)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 15 November 1989.
  22. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 8 November 1990)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 8 November 1990.
  23. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 6 November 1991)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 6 November 1991.
  24. ^ "Autumn Statement (Hansard, 12 November 1992)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 12 November 1992.
  25. ^ "Pre-Budget Statement (Hansard, 25 November 1997)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 25 November 1997.
  26. ^ "Pre-Budget Statement (Hansard, 3 November 1998)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 3 November 1998.
  27. ^ "Pre-Budget Statement (Hansard, 9 November 1999)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 9 November 1999.
  28. ^ "Pre-Budget Statement (Hansard, 8 November 2000)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 8 November 2000.
  29. ^ "Pre-Budget Report (Hansard, 27 November 2001)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 27 November 2001.
  30. ^ "Pre-Budget Report (Hansard, 27 November 2002)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 27 November 2002.
  31. ^ "Pre-Budget Report (Hansard, 10 December 2003)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 10 December 2003.
  32. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 2 Dec 2004 (pt 6)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 5 Dec 2005 (pt 6)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 06 Dec 2006 (pt 0003)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Oct 2007 (pt 0004)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 24 Nov 2008 (pt 0004)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Dec 2009 (pt 0004)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 29 Nov 2010 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 29 Nov 2011 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Dec 2012 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Dec 2013 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 03 Dec 2014 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 Nov 2015 (pt 0001)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Nov 2016".
  45. ^ "Spring Statement 2018 - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  46. ^ "Spring Statement 2019 - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  47. ^ HM Treasury, Autumn Statement 2023 date confirmed, published 5 September 2023, accessed 3 November 2023
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