Commenting on today's Budget, Ian Stewart, Deloitte chief economist, said:
"There is a Spring-like feel to this Budget: a brighter growth outlook, some high profile tax cuts, marginally less public borrowing and lower inflation to come. The Office of Budget Responsibility believes that deficit reduction, the centre piece of the government's economic strategy and its Plan A, is on track. While growth this year will be anaemic and less than half what was expected a year ago, it has been uprated by the OBR. The fiscal forecast for this and future years is more optimistic.
"But I wouldn't get carried away. The vast majority of the cuts in public spending lie ahead. The margin for error in reducing the UK's still huge deficit over the next five years is small and dependent on the unpredictable path of growth. There's still a long haul ahead for the UK economy."
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