Budget 2012: Austerity measures could be eased, OBR to show Geoff Dicks, an economist at Novus Capital Markets and a former member of the OBR, said: "I think there will have been an improvement in the structural deficit of about £4bn-£5bn. The public finances and growth can only go one way tomorrow - in the direction of improvement. Andrew Goodwin, economist at the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, put the headroom at £7bn. Despite the sharp rise in Government borrowing, the deficit for 2012 is expected to come in about £2bn below the OBR's current £127bn forecast. On top of that, the £28bn of assets transferred to the public sector from the Royal Mail pension scheme will reduce the structural deficit by a further £1bn - by cutting future interest payments. The economy is also expected to be slightly stronger than November's forecast and avoid a double-dip - with growth this year of 0.8pc, above the previous projection of 0.7pc. The improvements follow signs of green shoots, driven in part by the US and a softer than expected landing in Europe. However, the Treasury is not expected to alter its austerity plans for the time being. The OBR's outlook will follow figures on the public finances from the Office for National Statistics. National debt is expected to have bounced back above £1 trillion in February, as it did for the first time in December. A separate survey found that the majority of economists expect the Chancellor to hit his targets and fopr the country to hold on to its under-threat AAA credit rating.