MPs rubber-stamp members of the Budget responsibility committee

26 October 2010 0:00 am | Updated: 26 October 2010 8:15 am | By Paul McMillan

The Treasury select committee has rubber-stamped the appointment of Professor Stephen Nickell and Graham Parker to become members of the Budget responsibility committee.

The pair were grilled by the committee yesterday to ensure they had  the competence and independence required of the roles, using new powers given to the committee by Chancellor George Osborne.

TSC chairman Andrew Tyrie says: “I congratulate both Professor Stephen Nickell and Graham Parker on their appointments. Both have been appointed after the welcome extension of the Committee’s powers to veto the appointment and dismissal of BRC members.

“We accelerated the appointment process for both Professor Stephen Nickell and Graham Parker to ensure the OBR is up and running as soon as possible. In future, we will delay appointments to the BRC if we are given insufficient time by the Treasury to conduct such hearings.”

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