James Murray
MP for Ealing North · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Travellers will not need to do anything differently when using the allowances, but the revised categories change the combinations of products that can be brought into the UK duty-free. The changes were announced at the 2025 Budget and follow a review of travellers’ allowances after our exit from the European Union.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The overall volume of alcohol that individual travellers are allowed to bring back remains the same; it is the categories that different alcohol products fall into that is changing. Where people have previously maximised allowances across separate categories, they may be able to bring back less of those products in total.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Secondly, the existing still wine category is replaced by a single wine category covering both still and sparkling wine. Sparkling wine now forms part of the 18-litre wine allowance rather than the separate nine-litre category for drinks of up 22% alcohol by volume.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank hon. Members for their contributions. I welcome the support of the official Opposition for this measure, and acknowledge the long-standing conversations that the hon. Member for Grantham and Bourne and I have had on different sides of the aisle along Committee corridor.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Although individual travellers will not need to do anything differently when using the allowance, the revised categories will have changed the combinations that can be brought into the UK duty-free. The existing 42-litre beer allowance remains unchanged, but cider is now included in that allowance.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Some travellers are now able to bring back more of certain products duty-free, while those who previously maximised allowances across separate categories may be able to bring back less of those products in total. However, the overall duty-free allowance remains the same.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“As I have made clear, the Treasury will be focused in the coming months on ensuring that we have stronger information security in the spring forecast and all future forecasts. It is worth my adding that the OBR has in recent years had significantly increased funding: since 2021-22, its budget has increased by 45%. As an independent organisation, it has full discretion in how it uses its budget.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor set out at the Budget how important it is to increase our headroom. We have increased it to £21.7 billion, which is critical to reducing the cost of borrowing and protecting us against future shocks. The Chancellor also announced that the OBR’s spring forecast will not include an assessment of the Government’s performance against the fiscal rules, and the Government will not respond to it with fiscal policy; but the OBR will produce a forecast in spring, as expected.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The right hon. Gentleman and I disagree on the role of the OBR. As a Government, we are committed to the OBR’s independence and its vital role as a core part of our political framework. As I mentioned, one of our first acts in this Parliament was to introduce the fiscal lock to ensure that the OBR can never again be sidelined as it was by the previous Government. Regarding the private space between the OBR and the Treasury, the publication of the OBR’s letter, which as I mentioned was agreed to by the Chancellor, was due to the unique nature of this Budget in the context of the OBR’s productivity review. We acknowledged that that would not become a usual practice, due to the importance of preserving a private space for conversations.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point to some of Professor Miles’s comments yesterday. There has been a lot of discussion in this place about the £4.2 billion headroom identified in the forecast by the OBR on 31 October and what, in our view, that implied about the fiscal situation. Professor Miles said that the “£4 billion in the pre-measures forecast is not inconsistent with the sentiment that this is a very challenging fiscal position.” It is because of that fiscal position that we made the choices that we did.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the hon. Lady will know, the process is now under way for an external recruitment of a new chair of the OBR. The normal process will be followed in terms of the Chancellor making the appointment and the Treasury Committee being involved. The hon. Lady mentions that I have confirmed the leak inquiry today; I have confirmed it again today, but I mentioned it in my remarks to the House yesterday.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to that. While the process around the Budget is important, what this Budget means for people across Britain is that we have cut the cost of living, continue to cut NHS waiting lists, and cut Government borrowing.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor has delivered a Budget that takes the challenges of this country head on, cuts the cost of living, continues to cut NHS waiting lists, cuts Government borrowing, and meets the priorities of the British people.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I very much agree with the sentiment of my hon. Friend’s question. The OBR is a vital part of our fiscal framework—indeed, as I mentioned earlier, one of the first acts we took on entering government was to strengthen its role to ensure that it could never be sidelined. It is precisely because we see the OBR as holding such an important place in our fiscal framework that it is important that we maintain its integrity and trust. My hon. Friend asks what further steps the OBR will take. We will work with the National Cyber Security Centre and the OBR to take forward the recommendation that a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events is carried out. Let me add that there is no evidence of hostile cyber-activity, but the OBR report’s findings indicated access at previous fiscal events.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I said earlier, the publication of the OBR letter was agreed to by the Chancellor due to the unique nature of this Budget and the context of the OBR’s productivity review, as it said itself, while acknowledging that it would not become usual practice, due to the importance of preserving a private space for discussion.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As will be clear, I agree with the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks about Richard Hughes’s contribution to public service. However, I disagree that the premature publication of the forecast last Wednesday was a narrow matter. The report showed that it was about not simply a single error, but more systemic issues, which it highlighted, so I disagree with the characterisation of that as narrow. The right hon. Gentleman referred to some of Professor Miles’s comments at the Treasury Committee. Professor Miles confirmed that the £4 billion headroom identified in the forecast on 31 October was not inconsistent with the sentiment that this is a very challenging fiscal position. The right hon. Gentleman also asked about the OBR’s letter, the nature of its being published and what it speaks about for the future.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The OBR’s report into the premature publication of its forecast found no evidence of hostile cyber-activity, but it looked at the spring forecast and identified what happened there. Concerningly, it identified that there had also been premature access to the forecast at that fiscal event. The report did not look further back at, for instance, the Chancellor’s first Budget last year or Budgets delivered by Conservative Chancellors under the previous Government. That is why it is so important that the Government take forward the report’s recommendation to conduct a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I came here this morning expecting to be critiqued by the Opposition for their view of Government policy; I did not expect a critique of my knowledge of history, but that appears to be the route that the right hon. Gentleman wants to take. When I gave way to the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) yesterday, my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary said I was being too generous, and I am inclined to agree with him. On the broader point just made by the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), I think we need to be really careful about downplaying the seriousness of the OBR publishing its forecast early. It is not a “narrow matter”, as the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) said; we cannot simply brush it away.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that people across Britain are still living with the consequences of what the previous Government did in that mini-Budget, when they sidelined the OBR. In fact, one of the reasons we are so keen to protect and strengthen the OBR’s integrity is the vital role it plays in our fiscal framework. The very first Bill passed by this Government included the fiscal lock, which now prevents the OBR from being sidelined.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I want to be clear about what the OBR is required to do and what the Chancellor announced last week in the Budget. The OBR is required to produce two forecasts a year, and the Chancellor will commission a second forecast in due course. As she announced in the Budget, however, that forecast will not include an assessment of the Government’s performance against the fiscal rules, and the Government will not respond with fiscal policy.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will admit that I was surprised to read the OBR’s report, which made it clear that any assumptions we might have had that this was a simple error were not true—more systemic issues were revealed in the report. As I understand it, there was functionality within the OBR’s IT and website systems to have greater security, but they were not configured correctly to provide that security. For me, that underscores the fact that this is not one inadvertent error by one official; it is a systemic issue with the information security, which is so important.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question—I am glad that, not having had time to take his intervention yesterday, we are now back to business as usual with frequent exchanges across the Chamber. We probably disagree about the OBR’s role, but I hope he recognises the benefit of one of the changes to what the OBR will do that the Chancellor announced in last week’s Budget. As I said to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mr Reynolds) a few moments ago, although the OBR is required to produce two forecasts a year, the Chancellor has announced that the spring forecast will not include an assessment against the fiscal rules, and the Government will not respond with fiscal policy.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right to point out that while Conservative Members are keen to raise points of history, they seem to be rewriting history when it comes to their last few years in office. He asks an important question about cyber-security. The Government will work with the National Cyber Security Centre and the OBR to take forward the OBR report’s recommendation that a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events be carried out. For the avoidance of doubt, I should reiterate that the report found no evidence of hostile cyber-activity, but my hon. Friend is right to point out that information security and cyber-security are important for all of us across Government. Indeed, that was reflected in the spending review.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The OBR set out in black and white that the productivity downgrade reduced tax receipts by £16 billion, and identified the cause of that downgrade as the previous Government’s record in office, whether their slashing of public investment or their mishandling of Brexit. In her speech on 4 November, the Chancellor was clear that this productivity downgrade, combined with the clear need to increase headroom to build resilience in the public finances, would require everyone to make a contribution. That is what happened at the Budget.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government take this matter very seriously indeed and will move urgently to take forward that recommendation of the report, working with the National Cyber Security Centre. Cyber-security is an important matter for the OBR, and indeed for all Government Departments and bodies all year round, but the forecast is especially market sensitive, so it is particularly important to ensure that it is not published prematurely. That is why we take so seriously what happened last week, what seems to have happened in the spring, and what may even have happened at previous fiscal events.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to point out the importance of trust, and not just in the economy but in the public finances. In the Government’s view, the OBR’s role is a critical part of that trust. It is because of that role that the OBR plays in our robust and transparent fiscal framework that we take the premature release of this information so seriously and are following up the matters it raises so urgently.”
House of Commons3 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“After 14 years in power and one year in opposition, the Conservatives still refuse to take responsibility for the state they left the country in, and offer no apology for the damage they did to our public services and our economy when they were in power—and on top of that, they boast that they would do it all again. The Government are taking the fair and necessary choices to renew our country. Last year at our first Budget, we fixed the foundations by funding the largest ever capital settlement for health, introduced fiscal rules to ensure that the books are always balanced, and chose to invest in roads, rail, energy and homes across the UK.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the Health Secretary so powerfully set out when he opened today’s debate, cutting NHS waiting lists is a top priority for this Government. We prioritised the NHS at the Budget because a strong health service where people can get the treatment they need is a priority for the British people. Our determination to get the national health service back on its feet and invest in the future of our country stands in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who offer nothing but decline. They offer cuts to funding for public services that are equivalent to firing every police officer in the country twice.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the coming weeks, the Treasury will launch a competitive external recruitment process to appoint a new chair. As with all appointments to the Budget Responsibility Committee, the appointment of the new chair will be made by the Chancellor and will be subject to the consent of the Treasury Committee. This Government put the utmost weight on Budget security, including the prevention of leaks of information, and a leak inquiry is under way. The Treasury will work closely with the OBR to ensure that robust security arrangements are in place before the spring forecast and for all future forecasts, and the permanent secretary to the Treasury will conduct a review of the Treasury’s security processes to inform future fiscal events.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for opening the debate. Of course, today’s debate follows yesterday’s publication of the OBR’s report into the early release of the “Economic and fiscal outlook” and the subsequent resignation of Richard Hughes. Let me be clear that what happened last week with the EFO should never have happened, and nor should it ever happen again. We take the report’s findings very seriously. As I informed the House yesterday, we will work with the National Cyber Security Centre to take forward a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events. The OBR is a key part of our fiscal framework, and the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee continues under the experienced leadership of Tom Josephs and Professor David Miles.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor delivered a Budget last week that made fair choices on tax, protected investment in our public services and made our economy more secure. As a result of our choices, people will see more money in their pockets, thanks to the increase in the living wage; they will see rail fares and prescription charges frozen; they will see £150 off their energy bills; and they will see action across the country as we tackle the scourge of illicit businesses blighting our high streets. In short, this was a Budget that we were elected to deliver—”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The changes that we have set out to agricultural property relief are a fair way forward. They represent generous relief for people, while raising money for the public finances. In this Budget, the Chancellor announced that any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners. Following the Budget last week, we are going further. Despite the challenges that we faced, with the OBR recognising the deep scars to the economy caused by the previous Government, we refused to repeat the mistakes of the past. We rejected uncontrolled borrowing and refused to slash investment. We chose to keep cutting NHS waiting lists, to cut the cost of living and to cut debt and borrowing.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“At last week’s Budget, we set out our plan to make a further £4.9 billion of efficiencies by 2031, beginning by getting rid of police and crime commissioners, cutting the cost of politics and selling Government assets that we no longer need. This means we can make sure that taxpayers’ money—”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have secured hundreds of billions of pounds of private investment, and we are making sure that investment goes to every region and nation of the UK, so that everyone across the country feels the benefits of growth. Families across the country plan how much to spend week in, week out. They budget, save and economise to stay on top of their household finances. We will hold ourselves to the same, and higher, standards when it comes to taxpayers’ money. We will always make sure that the Government live within their means and make every penny count. We have already begun to improve the efficiency of Government, saving £14 billion a year by 2029 through greater use of AI and automation, as well as reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication through the abolition of NHS England.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are doing that by reforming the tax system, increasing the rate of tax on property income and on those with £2 million-plus homes, increasing tax rates for online gambling while removing bingo duty, and ensuring that HMRC has the right technology for a modern, effective tax system. We are making the changes that the Conservatives always ducked, and we are keeping taxes on working people as low as possible. When it comes to growth, the Chancellor has already beaten the forecasts once, with improved growth reported this year. We are determined to beat the forecasts in future years too, because we will not let the previous Government’s record hold Britain back in the future. We are backing entrepreneurs with tax breaks for businesses to scale and stay in the UK.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the hon. Gentleman knows, Madam Deputy Speaker, I give way to him week in, week out in this place, so I know pretty much what he is going to say. I do not have much time, so I am going to make some progress. [ Interruption. ] The Opposition are very loud at the moment, but time and again there is deafening silence when they are asked to defend their record in government. They simply refuse to own up and face up to the damage they caused to our economy by slashing investment. Our decision not to slash investment and to reject uncontrolled borrowing means that we have had to take fair and necessary choices on tax. We are being up front that those choices will mean everyone contributes more, but, as we promised last year, we are keeping taxes on working people as low as possible.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“(2) For the tax year 2026-27 the savings rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the savings basic rate is 20%, (b) the savings higher rate is 40%, and (c) the savings additional rate is 45%. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968. 4. Income tax (dividend rates) Question put, That— (1) In section 8 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (which provides, among other things, for the dividend ordinary rate and dividend upper rate)— (a) in subsection (1) (the dividend ordinary rate), for “8.75%” substitute “10.75%”, and (b) in subsection (2) (the dividend upper rate), for “33.75%” substitute “35.75%”. (2) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for the tax year 2026-27 and subsequent tax years.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the motions made in the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Standing Order No. 51(3)). 2. Income Tax (Main Rates) Resolved, That for the tax year 2026-27 the main rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the basic rate is 20%, (b) the higher rate is 40%, and (c) the additional rate is 45%. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968. 3. Income tax (default and savings rates) Resolved, That— (1) For the tax year 2026-27 the default rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the default basic rate is 20%, (b) the default higher rate is 40%, and (c) the default additional rate is 45%.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am proud of the choices that we have made in this Budget. Those are choices that protect the NHS and get waiting lists down; cut the cost of living and take £150 off energy bills; and reduce the national debt and bring down the cost of borrowing. We will invest in the infrastructure that will drive growth and productivity across the country. We will not leave the broken welfare system unchanged, and we will spend every penny of taxpayers’ money wisely. Those are fair choices, those are necessary choices, and those are the right choices for the future of our country. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That income tax is charged for the tax year 2026-27. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Politics is about making choices, yet the Conservatives are never keen to be judged by the choices they made when they were in government. They chose to cut investment in the foundations of our society, gutting our NHS, failing our schools and abandoning great swathes of the country and the next generation. They botched the Brexit deal, which stifled British trade and wrapped our businesses in red tape. They oversaw a covid recovery that left us lagging behind our neighbours while their donors and cronies pocketed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, and they were responsible for a mini-Budget that crashed our economy, did great damage to our global reputation and cost mortgage payers hundreds of pounds a month. Our Government are willing to choose and ready to stand by our choices.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We do not want to be a country where one in ten 15-year-olds goes hungry once a week because they cannot afford a meal. We want to be a country that recognises the profound damage that child poverty causes to us all. This Labour Government are taking the opportunity to change that. We do not want to be a country where £1 in every £10 of public money is spent on the interest on our national debt alone. That is why it is crucial that we cut borrowing and increase our fiscal headroom. That is the way to make sure that our country is less vulnerable to global shocks. We are determined to make our economy more resilient and ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent on taxpayers’ priorities. There is an old saying that to govern is to choose.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The right hon. Gentleman may not have been here, but a colleague of his asked me that same question before. Unfortunately, I did not know the history of that story; I shall have to look it up on Wikipedia tonight to find out. [ Laughter. ] Clearly, it was before my time. Our focus on spending public money wisely means we can make sure taxpayers’ money is spent on what matters: the NHS, schools, roads and railways, our armed forces and the police. This Budget means that we can continue to invest in the future. That investment in our future includes our decision to lift 450,000 children out of poverty. Those children should not go hungry simply because of the circumstances of their birth, and their life chances should not be written off before they have even got going.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We will look at wider questions of the systemic risk that this incident has uncovered, including the report’s conclusion that the OBR’s information security arrangements “should have been regularly re-examined and assured by the management of the OBR.” This Government are committed to the independence of the OBR and its role at the heart of economic and fiscal policy making. The Chancellor and the whole of the Treasury value the independence of the OBR and our constructive relationship with it over the past 16 months, in challenging economic times. The strength of that institution is a vital pillar in the Government’s economic and fiscal policy making, and we will respond to this matter with the seriousness it demands.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Furthermore, in response to paragraph 3.4 of the report, which set out that the problem exposed last week is not new, I can confirm to the House that the Government will work in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Centre to take forward the recommendation that a forensic examination of other fiscal events be carried out—although I note that the report finds no evidence of hostile cyber-activity. In addition, the report says that the OBR “could not, in the time available, carry out a deeper forensic examination of other recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook events and we recommend that such an exercise is, with expert support, now urgently carried out”. We will make sure that work is carried out urgently.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Unfortunately, that leads us to consider whether the reason they tried so persistently to access the EFO is because they had been successful at a previous fiscal event. At this time, we do not have answers to all those questions, but the Treasury will make contact with previous Chancellors, to make them aware of developments relating to previous fiscal events. The OBR has rightly conducted its initial investigation as quickly as possible, and it is right that both the Government and the Treasury Committee now take time to consider the report and its findings. The Treasury Committee will have the opportunity to carefully question the OBR tomorrow, at its post-Budget hearing.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The fact that market-sensitive information was prematurely accessible to a small group of market participants is extremely concerning, and the fact that this may have been the case on more than one occasion makes the situation even more severe. We do not know at this stage the extent to which market behaviour may have been affected on this or other occasions as a result of information being available early. I want to share one further bit of information from the report with the House. On the morning of the Budget, the first IP address to successfully access the EFO had made 32 prior attempts that day, starting at around 5 am. That volume of requests implies that the person attempting to access the document had every confidence that persistence would lead to success at some point.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That underlines just how serious the situation is. Let me underline that as a Government, we take seriously the need to ensure that the OBR never allows this to happen again. The report notes that common and fairly basic protections to prevent early access, including passwords and random-character URLs, were not used. It further notes that two configuration errors, which were not understood by the OBR’s online publishing function, prevented the safeguards in its online publishing software from being effective. I am also very concerned that the report notes that “it is very likely that the weaknesses that caused the premature accessing of the November 2025 EFO were pre-existing. Indeed, it appears that the March 2025 EFO was accessed prematurely”. These findings are very serious indeed.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The report goes on to make it clear that a significant and long-standing issue has allowed external users to gain early access to the OBR’s publication, which contains full details of its forecasts and the Chancellor’s Budget. In the days since the Budget, there has been speculation about the kind of error that led to the “Economic and fiscal outlook” being published early. The report today confirms that the cause was not “simply a matter of pressing the publication button on a locally managed website too early.” The report concludes that the cause of the OBR’s error was “systemic issues”, and that the investigation has made it clear that “the problem exposed last week was not a new one.” Indeed, the report reveals that the OBR’s EFO in March was accessed before the Chancellor delivered the spring statement to the House.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It has conducted an investigation into how the report came to be published prematurely, and it sent its report, including its findings, to the Treasury and the Treasury Committee today at 12.30 pm. The report states: “We are in no doubt that this failure to protect information prior to publication has inflicted heavy damage on the OBR’s reputation. It is the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR.” It adds that the “responsibility for the circumstances in which this vulnerability occurred and was then exposed rests, over the years, with the leadership of the OBR.” The report notes that this has “inflicted heavy damage on the OBR’s reputation”, and caused significant disruption on Budget day, “to the Chancellor’s disadvantage”.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor took the step of delivering a speech before the Budget, precisely so that she could be up front about the circumstances that she was facing and the decisions that she would need to take. She has been honest and consistent with the public in everything she has said. Last Wednesday, before the Chancellor began her Budget speech, the Office for Budget Responsibility published its entire “Economic and fiscal outlook” online. Let me be clear: this is a very serious breach of highly sensitive information. It is a fundamental breach of the OBR’s responsibility; it is a discourtesy to this House, and it should never have happened. The OBR rightly took full responsibility and issued an apology to the Chancellor later that day.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Finally, the OBR has now confirmed that the Chancellor knew on 4 November that she had only £4.2 billion of headroom against her fiscal rules, meaning that once the cost of those policy decisions was accounted for, there would be a deficit of £2.7 billion against the stability rule. The combined effect of this information is that on 4 November, the Chancellor knew that the Government would be in deficit against the stability rule before any of this Government’s priorities for the Budget had been delivered, or any additional headroom built. In the light of that information, and knowing about the OBR’s productivity downgrade, the Chancellor knew on 4 November that challenging decisions would be required on tax and spend. The subsequent decision to freeze personal tax thresholds for a further three years shows that this was correct.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“First, she was clear on her priorities at the Budget, which were to cut NHS waiting lists, to cut the cost of living and to cut our debt and borrowing. The Budget delivered on those priorities. Secondly, she was clear on 4 November that a lower productivity forecast would mean lower tax receipts. The OBR confirmed at the Budget that tax receipts are £16 billion lower as a result of the reduced productivity forecast. Thirdly, the Chancellor was clear on 4 November that she intended to build more headroom. She has done that, with headroom against the stability rule of £21.7 billion. Fourthly, she was clear in the summer that the policy decisions we took on welfare would need to be paid for at the Budget, and the Budget document shows those decisions costing £6.9 billion in 2029-30.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I would like to make a statement to the House on two separate but related matters. The first is regarding communication with the public in the lead-up to the Budget. I understand that this is a topic that has held much interest and speculation over the weekend and I would like to take this opportunity to give a formal statement to the House on the Government’s position. Secondly, the Government have also today received the results of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s investigation into the early release of the “Economic and fiscal outlook” at the Budget last week. I know that the House will be concerned to know the findings of that report, and I will turn to that in a moment. On the first point, the Chancellor has been consistent and up front with the public about her considerations in the lead-up to the Budget last week.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am very pleased to tell the House that the Chancellor has been at the Wales investment summit today, following the announcement yesterday of £1.4 billion of extra investment into Wales—just the latest in £16 billion of new investments announced since the summit was launched.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When the Chancellor delivered her Budget, the “Economic and fiscal outlook”, which, as we have discussed, was published slightly early, set out the context for the decisions that she took. The shadow Chancellor raised the issue of information security. I am sure that he will have received the letter from the permanent secretary sent on 25 November, which stated: “As Permanent Secretary, I place the utmost weight on Budget security. I will continue to keep all aspects under review to ensure the integrity of the Budget process.” Finally, the shadow Chancellor asked where the Chancellor is today.”
House of Commons1 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗