PRESS RELEASE : Chancellor announces Tom Josephs as preferred candidate for the Budget Responsibility Committee [August 2023]

Mr Josephs’ appointment will be subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the Treasury Committee, which will take place in early September. The Committee has a role in confirming the suitability of people nominated for certain public offices. Pending their consent, he will take up his role in due course for a term lasting five years.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

“I am very pleased to nominate Tom Josephs for appointment to the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee. The independent OBR play a vital role underpinning the credibility of the UK’s fiscal framework. Tom brings world-class expertise in the UK’s public finances alongside considerable experience leading economic and fiscal analysis in a range of domestic and international roles.

“I would like to thank Andy King for his significant contribution to the high-quality work of the OBR for over a decade, and wish him all the best for the future.”

Chair of the OBR Richard Hughes said:

“I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to nominate Tom Josephs to succeed Andy King on the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, pending confirmation by the Treasury Committee.

“Tom is a highly respected expert in the UK’s public finances whose wide-ranging experience includes senior posts in the OBR, HM Treasury, IMF, and DWP. His knowledge and judgement would be invaluable to our work as the UK’s official economic and fiscal forecaster.”

Tom Josephs said:

“I am delighted that the Chancellor has nominated me for appointment to the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee. It was a great privilege from 2010 to 2013 to be part of the staff team that worked with the first BRC members to establish the OBR. It would be an honour to now return to the OBR as a member of the BRC, should the Treasury Committee agree to my appointment.”

About the OBR

The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent analysis of the UK’s public finances. The OBR is led by the three members of the BRC who have executive responsibility for carrying out the core functions of the OBR, including any judgements made in the preparation of the economic and fiscal forecasts. The current members of the BRC are:

• Richard Hughes (Chair)
• Professor David Miles
• Andy King

The OBR’s oversight board consists of two non-executive members and the three BRC members and ensures there is effective risk management, governance and internal control of the organisation.

Find out more about the OBR

About the appointee

Tom Josephs is currently Director of Private Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). He was previously the Director of Fiscal Group at HM Treasury between September 2019 and August 2022. Between September 2016 and September 2019, he worked as the Director of Policy at the Department for International Trade. Prior to that he was a Senior Economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund between 2013 and 2016, the OBR’s first Chief of Staff between 2010 and 2013, and led the Treasury’s fiscal forecasting and analysis team between 2008 and 2010.

About the appointment process

Appointments are been made following an open recruitment process. Appointments to the BRC are conducted by the Treasury.

The interview panel for the BRC position was chaired by Sam Beckett (Chief Economic Advisor, HM Treasury) and included Richard Hughes (Chair, OBR), Aishani Roy (Deputy Director of Macroeconomic Analysis, HM Treasury) and Ross Walker (Managing Director, Chief UK Economist & Head of Global Economics, NatWest) as an independent panel member. The interview panel then made a recommendation to the Chancellor which informed his decision. Appointments to the BRC are subject to the consent of the Treasury Committee.