Although the UK Government has committed to delivering only one major fiscal event a year (a Budget), there is still an overriding responsibility for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to produce forecasts for the economy and public finances twice a year:
1. The Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) document (which usually accompanies the Budget Statement); and
2. The Forecast Evaluation Report (FER) which examines how accurate the above document is compared to the latest figures available. This is not published alongside the UK Budget
UK Budget 2025 (point 4.251) announced that the UK Government would ask the OBR to provide ‘an interim’ EFO in Spring 2026, updating the one published in November 2025.
On 22 December 2025, a news story on Gov.UK confirmed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has set the date for publication of this interim report as 03 March 2026. This is an interim EFO, not a FER.
For Bookkeepers
UK Budget 2025 (point 4.251) also confirms that the OBR reporting cycle will change, starting in March 2026:
- The EFO (usually published alongside the UK Budget) will be published in the Spring; and
- The FER will be published alongside the UK Budget
The Spring Statement 2026, accompanied by the above interim EFO document is NOT a UK Budget when tax and spending policy decisions are announced. Even though it will not assess the UK Government's performance against their fiscal mandate, this interim report may influence future UK Budget announcements.
