30 Jan 2019Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that this year's Spring Statement will be delivered on Wednesday 13 March. The 2019 Spring Statement will be the second of its kind: in the 2016 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a major shake-up of the government's fiscal timetable. This saw the abolition of the Autumn Statement, in favour of an Autumn Budget and a Spring Statement. This year's Statement will be delivered just 17 days before so-called 'Brexit Day' – the day that the UK is set to leave the EU. Many expect Mr Hammond to deliver an emergency Budget if the UK leaves the EU without a Brexit deal. The Spring Statement is used by the Chancellor as a way of responding to new economic forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and to discuss long-term issues ahead of the 2019 Autumn Budget. The government retains the right to make changes to fiscal policy during the Spring Statement.