The UK Budget Responsibility Act 2024 received royal assent on 10 September 2024.
The legislation stipulates that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) must analyse any proposed Government measure deemed “fiscally significant,” as well as any set of measures collectively considered “fiscally significant.”
The OBR will have the authority to independently assess a tax reform policy as “fiscally significant” even without a referral from the Treasury.
The goal is to ensure that the government’s fiscally significant measures undergo independent evaluation. This objective is achieved through Section 1 of the Act, which introduces new review powers into the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011.
The Act will take effect on a date determined by the Treasury through subsequent regulations.
