Budd calls for wider OBR remit to attract talent
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Outgoing Office of Budget Responsibility chairman Sir Alan Budd says the new body needs a wider remit to attract and keep hold of the best talent.
In a Treasury select committee hearing this morning Budd, who is stepping down from the new independent body after three months in the role, says the OBR may not be able to find the best staff if they are judged on the impossible task of forecasting alone. He said the OBR could be used to assess changes to tax and spending on the wider economy, for example.
Budd said: “No one in their right mind would take on a job where your success would be judged by your success in producing fiscal forecasts alone. I do think it is desirable that they have other activities.”
Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie said: “The quid pro quo is that we cannot do without a forecast even though nobody can succeed in the job.”
Budd leaves his role on August 13 and a replacement will be vetted by the select committee before they begin. He joked to the committee that he also “was not in my right mind” when he took the role, but says the job is a great one.
Budd said: “It is an excellent job. The reputation of this body depends on the first individuals who are appointed, so the way to harm the reputation of this body is to harm the reputation of its members. But the longer we go and the better work we do, the less the individuals are exposed.”
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