OBR: Resignation of Chair

Debate between Lord Grocott and Lord Livermore

Monday 8th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness. She raised her suggestion about the Swedish model before. I think I said then that I do not think that we had any intention of taking that forward, and I say the same thing again today.

It is important to say that we remain absolutely committed to the independence of the OBR. That is incredibly important to the fiscal framework and to our commitment to economic stability. Clearly, it is important that the information it has is treated with the utmost secrecy. That is why it is important that, as I have said, we will work closely with the OBR to ensure that it has robust security arrangements in place for how it treats information.

On the next steps that we intend to take, the OBR has rightly conducted its initial investigation as quickly as possible, and we should now take the time, as I think I have said to the noble Baroness before, to consider its findings and the report in greater detail. The report into the OBR also made the point that it

“could not, in the time available, carry out deeper forensic examination”

of other recent economic and fiscal outlook events and recommended that such an event takes place. We have committed to doing that with the National Cyber Security Centre, as I think the noble Baroness alluded to, although it is important that we note that the report found no evidence of hostile cyber activity.

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a question asked in all innocence. It is now 15 years since the OBR was established. Some of us have lived through the period before the OBR and the period since. Does my noble friend know of any academic studies or the like that suggest that Budgets were better prepared, more efficiently kept secret where necessary and altogether held in higher esteem before the existence of the OBR compared with the period since, or is the reverse true?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am not aware of any academic studies into what my noble friend asks about. I had the privilege of working in the Treasury for 10 years before the OBR came into existence, and I have now worked on two Budgets since the OBR came into existence. It is worth repeating that the Government are committed to the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility. There is academic evidence that suggests that stability has a significant advantage in terms of the performance of the economy, economic growth et cetera. The OBR should and does remain at the heart of economic and fiscal policy-making, and the strength of that institution is a vital pillar in the Government’s commitment to economic stability.

Rules on Duty-Free Goods

Debate between Lord Grocott and Lord Livermore

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question and I pay tribute to her consistency on this matter. We share many similarities in our observations and analysis of the impact of Brexit. She will know that we are engaged in the EU reset, which will achieve substantial benefits for growth in the UK and for British citizens travelling around the European Union. I urge her to support the reset.

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My noble friend, on this Question and a number of others that I have heard him reply on, demonstrates the passion that he feels for the European Union. It is a passion not shared by everyone. Some of us remember that the 40 years when we were in the European Union were not exactly flowing with milk and honey as far as the British economy was concerned.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My noble friend will notice the support he gets from the Liberal Democrat Benches.

Can I have my noble friend’s assurance that we stand very strongly by the Labour Government’s manifesto promise that there will be no question of us rejoining either the customs union or the single market?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am sure my noble friend and I agree on many things, but Brexit is not one of them. I hope that when he talks about our experience in the European Union he will acknowledge the OBR’s calculations that, had we remained in the European Union, by the end of this Parliament the economy would be £100 billion larger than it will be otherwise. That is a significant disbenefit of Brexit. As my noble friend knows, the manifesto stands.

Non-domicile Status

Debate between Lord Grocott and Lord Livermore

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for passing on the feedback that he heard. I am assuming that he agrees with this Government’s policy on non-doms, since he was an adviser to the previous Government when they actually took our policy, implemented it, and scored £20 billion for it. So I am assuming that he approves of our policy and of the fact that we are raising that revenue. The changes that we are making to the system to make it simpler and more attractive to use are based on speaking to the relevant stakeholders and ensuring that they find it attractive to use. As I say, the system that we are implementing is actually more competitive than the system that it replaces.

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

Can I welcome very much my noble friend’s clear restatement of our commitment to this policy? It is right because it raises revenue, but it is also right in principle.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am very grateful to my noble friend for his comments. The Government are absolutely committed to addressing unfairness in the tax system so that everyone who makes their home in the UK pays their taxes here. It is absolutely right that we have the most competitive tax regime that we possibly can.