Budgets: Data Protection
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Annual Report of the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, published on 28 May 2025, paragraph 1.10, what steps she is taking to stop leaks on Budget policy measures.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
The most recent Annual Report of the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards was published on 28 May 2026. Paragraph 1.10 of this Report sets out that – prior to Budget 2025 – the Independent Adviser was asked by third parties to investigate reports of market-sensitive information being released. It further acknowledges that the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on 10 December 2025, acknowledging that there had been “too many leaks” prior to the Budget.
Since the Chancellor gave that evidence, HM Treasury has published the Budget Information Security Review (BISR). This was published in February 2026 and set out a series of steps that HM Treasury is taking to tighten Budget information security. These include enhanced IT restrictions and a new classification for the most sensitive Budget-related information, to strengthen the protection of such information ahead of future fiscal events. Full details are set out in the BISR.
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