Website of the UK government

The Government's economic goals

The Budget identified several long-term economic goals:

• maintaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring the fiscal rules are met and that inflation remains low

• sustainable growth and prosperity, through reforms that promote enterprise and business growth, simplify the tax system, enhance flexibility and promote science, innovation and skills

• ensuring fairness and opportunity for all, tackling child and pensioner poverty, providing opportunity for all children and young people, delivering security for all in retirement, and ensuring a modern and fair tax system where everyone pays their fair share of tax

• creating stronger communities and effective public services, and improving long-term housing supply and affordability

• ensuring an environmentally sustainable world, with action to address the global challenge of climate change

Economic growth and the public finances

The UK economy grew 3 per cent in 2007. UK gross domestic product (GDP) growth is forecast to slow from 3 per cent in 2007 to 1¾ to 2¼ per cent in 2008, before picking up to 2¼ to 2¾ per cent in 2009, and 2½ to 3 per cent in 2010.

Budget 2008 projections show that the Government is meeting its fiscal rules:

• the current budget shows an average surplus as a percentage of GDP over the current economic cycle, which began in 1997-1998, and the current budget moves into surplus from 2010-11 onwards

• public sector net debt is projected to remain low and stable over the forecast period, stabilising below the 40 per cent ceiling set in the sustainable investment rule