Yahoo Finance Kwasi Kwarteng to publish fiscal plan and OBR forecasts on 31 October
Kwasi Kwarteng has brought forward his medium-term fiscal plan by more than three weeks and will now announce it alongside economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility on 31 October.
The Treasury department confirmed the move to bring forward the publication of the financial strategy from 23 November as Kwarteng seeks to calm financial markets following a turbulent period.
The UK chancellor of the Exchequer said he hopes "this short extra delay is acceptable" in a letter to Commons Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride on Monday.
This means that the plan will now come before the Bank of England's next interest rates decision on 3 November, a key demand from Stride.
Read more: Interest rate rises only way to tame UK inflation, warns Bank of England deputy governor
The chair previously expressed concern that the government needed to calm markets earlier and reduce upward pressure on rates that’s affecting the mortgages of millions of homeowners.
Stride, who posted the letter on Twitter (TWTR) on Monday, said: "Having pressed so hard on this I strongly welcome decision by Kwasi Kwarteng to bring forward OBR forecast MTFP to 31st Oct."
"If this lands well with markets then MPC meeting on 3rd Nov may result in smaller rise in int rates. Critical to millions of mortgage holders," he added.
BREAKING: Having pressed so hard on this I strongly welcome decision by @KwasiKwarteng to bring forward @OBR_UK forecast MTFP to 31st Oct. If this lands well with markets then MPC meeting on 3rd Nov may result in smaller rise in int rates. Critical to millions of mortgage holders pic.twitter.com/sgn7mB4ovf
— Mel Stride (@MelJStride) October 10, 2022
There's been some confusion about the timing of the fiscal plan and the decision is the latest U-turn in a series of twist and turns in Liz Truss's government.
Read more: Kwarteng's reversal of 45p tax cut: Richest 5% households still stand to gain most
Last week, the chancellor ruled out that he would bring his £43bn package of tax cuts forward, saying that he would stick with the November date.
It came after reports that Kwarteng would publish it at the end of this month after he told the Conservative conference he would release his fiscal plan and OBR forecasts "shortly".
In September, chiefs at some of the City of London’s biggest companies told the chancellor that he couldn’t wait until November to reassure markets about his fiscal plans.
Earlier this month, the chancellor also reversed on plans to scrap the 45p top rate income tax, announced in his mini-budget, after it sparked a sell-off in the pound and government bond market.
Read more: UK mortgage interest rates surge past 6% to highest level for 14 years
Kwarteng’s plan will set out how the government intends to reduce debt as a share of gross domestic product over the medium term, a goal that is expected to require significant cuts to public spending after he unveiled the biggest set of tax giveaways in 50 years on 23 September.
