Budget Leak Was Worst Error In The OBR's History, Says Investigation
Richard Hughes said last week that he would be willing to resign (Alamy)
3 min read
An investigation into how the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) managed to publish details of the Budget early has concluded that the watchdog should overhaul its publication processes, describing the error as the "worst failure" in its 15-year history.
On Monday, the investigation report concluded that there is "no doubt that this failure to protect information before publication has inflicted heavy damage on the OBR’s reputation".
The OBR, which carries out independent economic analysis of government policy, requested an investigation after it released details of the Budget before they were announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday.
The error triggered fury in Westminster. Reeves described the leak as "deeply disappointing" while delivering the Budget, while, on Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer described it as a "serious error" and “massive discourtesy” to Parliament.
Following the error, the OBR launched an investigation into how it had "inadvertently made it possible to access" its verdict on Reeves' Budget too early.
The investigation, published this afternoon, concluded that the OBR analysis, which contained details of what Reeves was to announce in the Budget, had not been leaked intentionally.
It also said there was "nothing to suggest" that early access to the OBR's Budget forecasts was the result of "hostile cyber activity by foreign actors or cyber criminals, or of connivance by anyone working for the OBR".
The cause, the investigation found, was two errors in the OBR's website setup.
"These led to a failure to ensure the protections which hide documents from public view immediately before publication were in place," the report said.
It added that, given the procedures used for last week's Budget were the same as those used at previous fiscal events, there is a "high likelihood" that there were opportunities for people to secure early access to past publications.
The report said there should be "completely new arrangements" for the OBR's publication of "major market and time-sensitive documents" like Budget forecasts.
It added that there should be a "full review" into whether the OBR should continue with an online publication process that is entirely separate from the government's own.
"It should not attempt to carry out these tasks on its own, but form a working party involving the leadership of the technology and communications communities within government."
The chaos marked the beginning of wider tensions between the OBR and ministers, with PoliticsHome revealing on Thursday that the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had privately criticised the watchdog's analysis of SEND spending after details announced in the Budget triggered alarm within the party.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 last week, OBR chair Richard Hughes said he felt "personally mortified by what happened".
"We let people down yesterday, and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again," he added.
Hughes said last week that he would be prepared to step down if Reeves decided that she no longer had confidence in him following the investigation's conclusions
A HM Treasury spokesperson said: “We thank the Office for Budget Responsibility for their report. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury will respond in due course.”
