Question follow-through · 40157
Public Expenditure
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which financial year the current budget was last in surplus.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Treasury
- Tabled
- 21 Mar 2025
- Target answer date
- 26 Mar 2025
- Answer
- 26 Mar 2025 · 5 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Economy and business
- Universal Credit · 2 Apr 2025
- Universal Credit: Health · 2 Apr 2025
- Economic Policy and Fiscal Policy · 2 Apr 2025
- Public Expenditure · 2 Apr 2025
- Disposable Income: Forecasts · 2 Apr 2025
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Votes on this topic
- Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots for Statutory Trade Union Ballots · 15 Jul 2026
- Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 · 15 Jul 2026
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 · 1 Jul 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
21 Mar 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which financial year the current budget was last in surplus.
26 Mar 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
26 Mar 2025
Answer published
The last financial year for which the current budget was in surplus was 2018-19, when there was a surplus of £0.8 billion. This was the only surplus since 2001-02, when the current budget was in surplus by £6.9 billion. The OBR has today forecast that the...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Universal Credit
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, what changes were made to the universal credit standard allowance increase following
Universal Credit: Health
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, what changes were made to the reduction in the level of the Universal Credit health
Economic Policy and Fiscal Policy
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, how the policies scored at the Spring Statement differ from the policies announced b
Public Expenditure
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40157 on Public Expenditure, and with reference to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's statement to the House on 28 October 2024, Official Report, column 562, wh
Defence: Finance
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the additional defence expenditure she announced at the Spring Statement falls under capital departmental expenditure limits; what proportion falls under resource departmental expenditure limits;
Disposable Income: Forecasts
2 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the net impact of (a) Government policies since 4 July 2024, (b) the Autumn Budget 2024 and (c) the Spring Statement 2025 has been on the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts for real household disposab
Public Expenditure
7 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43439 on Public Expenditure, the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40157 on Public Expenditure and with reference to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's stateme
Social Security Benefits: Immigration
17 Apr 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of migrants to the UK gaining access to (a) welfare payments and (b) other services as a result of obtaining indefinite leave to remain for each financial y
Double Taxation: India
21 May 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason her Department did not make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed Double Contribution Convention with India on the public purse before agreeing to it.
Winter Fuel Payment
21 May 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her Department’s policy to announce changes to winter fuel payments at fiscal events.
Public Sector Debt
22 May 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make a comparative assessment of the outturn and forecast data for public sector net (a) borrowing, (b) debt, excluding Bank of England debt, and (c) financial liabilities for each financial year from 20
Local Government Finance
12 Jun 2025 · To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.74 of the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, whether the 3.1% annual growth figure for local authority spending power assumes all councils increase core council tax by 3%