The future of the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is uncertain following a recent scandal involving a leak of budget information. Richard Hughes, the Chair of OBR, faced questions about his resignation in light of what is considered the most significant breach of budget confidentiality since 1996. Despite the scrutiny, he pledged to comply with the directives of the Treasury and a committee of Members of Parliament.
Hughes, who received £217,000 in salary and pension benefits last year, attributed the incident to a “technical error” and acknowledged a mistake within the OBR that led to the premature publication of the government’s tax and spending assessments on their website.
Speaking at a press conference, Hughes admitted, “The document was inadvertently uploaded to our website ahead of schedule. We have launched an investigation to understand how and why this occurred. The findings will be presented to our oversight board, the Treasury, and the Treasury Committee, and I will adhere to their recommendations.”
He emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “We are taking this matter very seriously. We are determined to identify the root causes to prevent similar incidents in the future. This was an error within the OBR.”
The breach is considered the most severe since November 1996 when a significant portion of the budget was leaked to the Daily Mirror. At that time, the newspaper obtained 36 documents, primarily press releases meant for distribution after the Chancellor’s speech.
Hughes, who started his term as OBR Chair in October 2020, had his appointment extended by the Commons Treasury Committee in July of this year. With a background in economics from Harvard University and the University of Oxford, he commenced his career at the Treasury in 2000.
