Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the number of (a) mothers and (b) fathers who are likely to return to the workplace following the Spring Budget 2023.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK labour market, including assessments of the impact of the Budget, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The OBR judged that the overall impact of the policy package announced at Spring Budget 2023 is to increase the level of employment by around 0.3 per cent in 2027-28, this is equivalent to 110,000 individuals. This is the largest upward revision made to potential output as a result of government fiscal policy decisions in any of the OBR’s forecasts since 2010.

Further details can be found in the OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2023: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/