§ Mr. HowardTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition of the economic cycle he employs for the purpose of calculating the cyclically adjusted budget256W surplus or deficit; what his assessment is of the typical lengths of an economic cycle; and what assessment he has made of the (a) start and (b) end date of the last economic cycle. [12869]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe Treasury's methodology for assessing trend growth and the output gap is set out in the publication "Fiscal policy: public finances and the cycle", HM Treasury, March 1999.
Paragraphs 2.35 and 2.36 of Budget 2001 set out the assessment of the last cycle; this will be updated in the next pre-Budget report.