OBR in warning over £65bn hole

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images

The Government must find £17 billion of additional spending cuts or tax hikes at the end of its current austerity plan or eventually face a £65 billion hole in the public finances, the official forecaster warned.

In its annual fiscal sustainability report, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the additional £17 billion in savings by the year to April 2018 would be needed to get Britain's debt back to pre-crisis levels by 2061. The country's ageing population will increase the budget deficit by £65 billion if nothing is done, the OBR said.