Budget 08: Northern Rock will not affect fiscal policy

The Treasury claimed it has been possible to exclude the effect of the nationalisation of Northern Rock from this year's balance sheet because it is still awaiting a formal ruling from the Office of National Statistics.

But officials made it clear that UK fiscal policy will not be determined on the basis of debt figures resulting from an event which would have no long term effect. Alistair Darling said that would ‘make no sense’.