Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report OECD Economic Outlook, published on 8 June; and what assessment they have made of the prediction in that report that Britain will experience zero economic growth in 2023.

The OECD’s latest Economic Outlook underlines the uncertainty around the global economic outlook. The OECD forecast global growth will slow sharply this year and to remain at a subdued pace in 2023 linked to the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflationary pressures across many economies and continuing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The OECD estimates global growth of 3.0% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023.

The OECD forecast that the UK economy will grow by 3.6% this year, the second fastest in the G7, while growth in 2021 was the highest of the G7 (7.4%). Looking ahead, we face challenges across the global economy – common challenges with other countries including high inflation. This is why we are taking significant action to support households with the cost of living totalling around £37bn this year. We also continue to make progress against our plan for growth to support the economy, including a landmark capital uplift in the Spending Review 2021, the creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank, more funding for apprenticeships and skills training, a commitment to double public investment in R&D, and the launch of the UK-wide Help to Grow scheme.