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Chancellor George Osborne's economic plans are 'risky', and could contribute to a slowdown in UK growth, the EY Item Club has warned.

The chancellor's economic strategy in part relies on businesses stepping up investment and exports, it said.

This is unlikely to go far enough to prevent growth slowing over the next few years, it added.

But the Treasury says its plans have "laid the foundations for a stronger economy".

Pressure on business?

In its latest quarterly prediction on the economy, EY Item Club, which uses the same economic model as the Treasury, said that UK economy was strong.

This is mainly due to low inflation, largely driven by low oil prices, it said.

But inflation is forecast to rise, and consumer growth is predicted to slow, which will contribute to an overall slowdown in UK growth, Peter Spencer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item Club told BBC Radio 5 live.

And Mr Osborne's plans could put pressure on businesses, which will have to shoulder more responsibility for low wage employees through the National Living Wage, as well as increasing investment to boost productivity, he said.

"Everybody knows the chancellor has handed over responsibility for looking after those at the bottom end of the scale essentially to companies through the living wage - that's substituting for all of those tax credits.

"But also, he's relying on companies to step up their investment and training plans and of course exports, basically to keep the economy going as households, that's you and me, begin to tighten our belts in response to the big tax increases in the Budget," Mr Spencer said.

EY Item Club expects UK GDP growth to reach 2.7% for 2015 and 2016 before it slows to 2.4% in 2017 and 2018.

However, the Treasury said that "hard work on economic recovery is now paying off as people see their pay packets growing faster, which will be helped further by the new National Living Wage".

It added: "In an uncertain world economy we must continue working through the plan to return the public finances to surplus and secure a better economic future for all."