Budget

Budgets

What fiscal rules has the government set itself?

There have been 6 sets of fiscal rules since the Emergency Budget. An outcome is shown only when the reviewed file marks it.

Fiscal rules over time

  1. June 2010 mandate

    to 2015-07-08

    • Cyclically adjusted current budget. Balance by the end of the rolling five-year forecast Target: Rolling five-year horizon. Not assessed. Source
    • Debt falling as a share of GDP. Public sector net debt falling by the fixed target year Target: 2015-16. Not assessed. Source

  2. Summer 2015 charter

    to 2016-11-23

    • Surplus on the headline measure. Surplus in 2019-20 and a surplus in normal times Target: 2019-20. Not assessed. Source
    • Welfare cap. Welfare spending inside the cap Target: Cap set at the Summer Budget. Not assessed. Source

  3. Autumn 2016 charter

    to 2021-10-27

    • Structural deficit. Cyclically adjusted deficit below 2 per cent of GDP Target: 2020-21. Not assessed. Source
    • Debt falling. Public sector net debt falling as a share of GDP Target: 2020-21. Not assessed. Source

  4. Autumn 2021 charter

    to 2022-11-17

    • Current budget. Current budget in balance by the third year of the forecast Target: Third year of the forecast. Not assessed. Source
    • Debt falling. Underlying debt falling as a share of GDP by the third year Target: Third year of the forecast. Not assessed. Source

  5. Autumn 2022 charter

    to 2024-10-30

    • Debt falling. Public sector net debt excluding the Bank of England falling as a share of GDP Target: Fifth year of the forecast. Not assessed. Source
    • Borrowing limit. Public sector net borrowing below 3 per cent of GDP Target: Fifth year of the forecast. Not assessed. Source

  6. Autumn 2024 charter

    onward

    • Current budget. Current budget in balance or surplus Target: 2029-30. Not assessed. Source
    • Net financial debt. Public sector net financial liabilities falling as a share of GDP Target: 2029-30. Not assessed. Source

How much room did each Budget leave?

Headroom is taken from the reviewed rules file. The March 2026 forecast did not publish a fiscal rules table, and the OBR workbook is optional. A figure is shown only when that file records one.

Rules replaced before their target year are not counted as met or missed.

How to read these comparisons
  • Outturn figures are revised by the ONS for years after the event. Each difference uses the ONS release shown in Sources, and is updated when the ONS revises.
  • Changes to how things are classified, such as the treatment of student loans or the Bank of England's schemes, can move borrowing and debt without any change in policy. These are marked "Basis changed".
  • Each forecast assumes the policies in place at the time. Later policy changes are one reason outturns differ.
  • Large shocks, such as the pandemic and the energy price rise, account for many of the biggest differences. A forecast difference is not a broken promise.

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