THE Treasury has announced that Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will set out his medium-long term fiscal plan on November 23, following the pound plunging to its lowest ever level against the US dollar.
According to the Treasury’s statement, the November plan "will set out further details on the Government’s fiscal rules, including ensuring that debt falls as a share of GDP in the medium term".
The statement also said that the UK Government would outline regulatory reforms to "ensure the UK’s financial services sector remains globally competitive".
This follows Kwarteng announcing a scrap to bankers’ bonuses on Friday as well as a cut to taxes for the highest earners alongside ditching the planned hike to corporation tax – with the Treasury estimating the overall cost of the Chancellor’s mini-budget would amount to nearly £45 billion a year by 2026.
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Coinciding with Kwarteng’s November fiscal plan, The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its updated forecast for the current calendar year.
The Treasury also confirmed that there will be a Budget in the spring, with a further OBR forecast.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has signalled it will push ahead with its massive package of tax cuts even as the pound plunged to an all-time low against the US dollar amid hammered market confidence in the Government’s economic plans.
Sterling hit its lowest level against the dollar since decimalisation in 1971 on Monday morning - falling by more than 4% to just 1.03 dollars in early Asia trading.
It later rebounded to 1.09 dollars on Monday afternoon as speculation mounted over an intervention by the Bank of England.
The Bank of England later announced on Monday that it would "not hesitate" to hike interest rates as much as was necessary following the news of the plunging value of the pound.
SNP shadow chancellor Alison Thewliss said the drop in the value of sterling showed the "Tory-made cost-of-living crisis is rapidly getting worse" and that Kwarteng’s mini-budget was made for the “super-rich”.
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