Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2009-10

Act of Parliament

House	Act	Date
	Fiscal Responsibility Act 2010 c.3 | PDF version, 62KB	03.02.2010

• All Bill documents

Latest news on the Bill

Following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill it received Royal Assent on 10 February. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament (law).

Summary of the Bill

The Bill imposes a statutory duty on the Treasury to meet specific targets for the reduction of government borrowing and debt. The Government believes that this legislation demonstrates its commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the public finances.  The Bill gives Parliament a greater role in fiscal policy.

Key areas

The Bill requires the Treasury to make sure that:

• Government borrowing in each financial year between 2010/11 and 2015/16 is lower than the previous year, measured as a percentage of GDP
• Government borrowing in 2013/14 is no more than half its 2009/10 level. A draft statutory instrument made under the Bill requires borrowing to be no more than 5.5 per cent of GDP in 2013/14
• Government debt is lower in 2015/16 than in 2014/15, measured as a percentage of GDP

The Bill also requires the Treasury to report to Parliament in the Budget and in Pre-Budget Reports and to provide an explanation if the targets are missed.

Stay up to date

Keep up to date with the progress of Bills going through Parliament. Sign up for email alerts or use our RSS feeds.

• RSS feed for this Bill

Related information

Public Bill workshops

Want to learn more about engaging with Parliament’s scrutiny of legislation? The Houses of Parliament’s Outreach Service holds free regular workshops open to anyone interested in engaging with Public Bills.

Guide to the passage of a Bill

Find out what happens at each stage of a Public Bill’s journey through Parliament with the Passage of a Bill guide.

When does a Bill become law?

Explanation of what happens after Bills have been passed, and when laws may change.

Human rights