Roundtable with Tom Josephs, Budget Responsibility Committee, Office for Budget Responsibility
Join us for this roundtable event focusing on the UK’s fiscal and economic outlook and the risks to fiscal sustainability.
The UK’s faces a challenging fiscal context. Government debt has increased sharply over the past two decades. Looking ahead there are pressures on the public finances from the current global economic instability, rising demand for public services, and longer-term trends such as demographic change. Navigating this environment requires a shared understanding of the current and historical context, how the outlook is evolving, and how this could affect business investment and long-term planning.
Join to discuss:
- The UK’s current fiscal position in historical and international context and how it is affecting the business environment, investment, and risk appetite
- The outlook for productivity and economic growth and long-term pressures on public finances, including demographics, health, defence and global tensions
- How government, business and analysts can collaborate to build deeper shared understanding of the economy and public finances.
- Whether there are opportunities to improve public understanding of the fiscal situation.
Speaker
Tom Josephs joined the Budget Responsibility Committee in September 2023.
After starting his career in a private sector consultancy, Tom worked in HM Treasury from 2000 to 2010 in a range of roles covering macroeconomics, Budget policy coordination, and fiscal analysis and forecasting. In 2010 he was appointed to the OBR as its first Chief of Staff and led the establishment and development of the organisation in its early years. In 2013, Tom joined the International Monetary Fund as a Senior Economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department providing advice on fiscal policy, analysis and institutions in a range of countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
He returned to the UK Civil Service in 2016, first as Director of Trade Policy at the Department for International Trade, then from 2019 as Director of Fiscal Group leading HM Treasury’s work on fiscal policy and government financing through Covid, and then from 2022 at the Department for Work and Pensions as Director for Private Pensions.
He holds undergraduate and Masters degrees from the University of Manchester.
Please note attendee numbers at roundtables are strictly limited to ensure everyone is able to contribute to the conversation. Invitees are carefully selected in line with WIG's charitable purpose, to bring a range of views and perspectives. If you or a colleague would like to be considered for future roundtables in this series, then please feel free to email us at [email protected].