Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

I would like to comment briefly on the difference between the pre-budget and post-budget situations. It is important to note that if fiscal policy is managed well, it should be very boring. What is sustainable does not really change much from year to year. What happens in good times should be the same as what happens in bad times. From our perspective, the less drama the better. For example, we have had very positive corporation tax news since the budget. However, that should not really affect policymakers' view of what is sustainable. It is a windfall and it should be dealt with appropriately.

One thing that did change in the budget is the additional overruns in health spending. That was an obvious disappointment in 2019. However, there has been a new and welcome development where our advice has been followed. In 2020, that money is not being put into the base. Additional measures have been taken to keep the 2020 plan where it was and not shift health spending upwards as happened in the past. That has been a very welcome development. It must now be implemented, which will be challenging. We will look at that very closely in the coming year.

We also got two scenarios for Brexit. That was very helpful. Irrespective of what happens in the next few months, we have a good idea from the Government of what it will look like if things carry on along a relatively smooth path and what will happen if things go wrong for some reason. It may not be very obvious today, but things are very volatile in the UK at the moment. That is helpful and it all contributes to a sense of smoothness and good management.