Autumn Statement

Roger Mullin Excerpts
Wednesday 23rd November 2016

(7 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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I am not going to be tempted, as a former Transport Secretary, to get into the weeds of my right hon. Friend’s portfolio and talk about specifics of individual projects on the rail network, but, as I said, he will be making a statement in the near future.

Roger Mullin Portrait Roger Mullin (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
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Will the Chancellor confirm that the assumption on pages 241 to 248 of the OBR’s “Economic and fiscal outlook” not only means that all forecast numbers will be subject to high margins of error but implies that the Government will fail to achieve single market membership?

Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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No, it does not imply that. However, it is the case, as I have said, that the OBR has acknowledged specifically that there is a higher degree of uncertainty around its forecasts this autumn than there is usually, for reasons that are obvious.