The future of the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility is uncertain following a leak scandal related to the Budget. Richard Hughes, the Chair, faced questions about his resignation in light of the significant breach, which he attributed to a technical error within the OBR. Despite earning £217,000 in pay and benefits last year, Hughes expressed commitment to follow the directives of the Treasury and a group of MPs.
During a press conference, Hughes acknowledged the premature upload of the government’s tax and spending assessment on the OBR website due to an unintentional mistake. He assured that an investigation had been launched to determine the causes of the error and prevent its recurrence, with the findings to be presented to the oversight board, the Treasury, and the Treasury Committee for further action.
The breach is considered the most severe since November 1996 when a substantial portion of the Budget was leaked to the Daily Mirror. Hughes, who assumed his role as OBR Chair in October 2020 and had his appointment extended by the Commons Treasury Committee in July, has a background in economics from Harvard University and the University of Oxford, with a career that began at the Treasury in 2000.