The Autumn Statement is one of the major events of the Parliamentary year, which sets out government plans for spending. It provides an opportunity to evaluate how the UK economy is performing.

A number of key markers demonstrate what is going on. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), an independent body, examines these key areas.

There have been a number of times when there have been calls across the Chamber of the House of Commons to “abandon Plan A”. We should not forget that the Coalition Government took office to find that there was massive debt. Difficult decisions had to be taken immediately to rein in spending and reduce the burden of debt.

Yet there is still an attitude that the plan to achieve responsible recovery can be abandoned and that we could borrow and spend more with impunity.

The Autumn Statement on 5 December indicated that there is fresh growth in the UK economy. The forecasts for GDP (gross domestic product) have been revised upwards from 0.6 per cent to 1.4 per cent this year, and from 1.8 per cent to 2.4 per cent in 2014.

Employment is a key marker for the economy. At one stage it was predicted that the level of employment would stay level this year. This forecast has been revised to show a rise of 400,000. The forecast is that unemployment will fall to 7 per cent in 2015.

The budget deficit was 11 per cent in 2009/10. Earlier this year it was predicted this would fall to 7.5 per cent, but now it is projected to fall to 6.8 per cent. Debt this year will be 75.5 per cent of GDP, which is £18 billion less than forecast.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer also said that we should be running a surplus when economic times are good, so that we have something in hand to spend should there be any downturn in the economy. In December, Members of Parliament are going to be voting on a new Charter for Budget Responsibility which would incorporate this proposal.