Chancellor announces Spring Statement date 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.