Point of Order

In the House of Commons, a point of order was raised by Kit Malthouse, a Conservative MP from North West Hampshire. Malthouse expressed concerns about the accuracy of the financial information presented to the House by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Malthouse explained that on July 25th, the main estimates were laid before the House and passed without debate or vote. However, just a few days later, on July 29th, the Chancellor made a statement about the public finances and presented a document called "Fixing the Foundations" that painted a significantly different picture of the public finances. This raised concerns among Malthouse and other members, who questioned the Chancellor about the discrepancy. Malthouse further revealed that a letter from the Cabinet Secretary to the shadow Chancellor has been leaked, indicating that officials knew the estimates presented earlier were incorrect. Additionally, a letter from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) showed that they had been provided the "Fixing the Foundations" document two days before the estimates were laid before the House, suggesting the government was aware of the inaccuracies. Malthouse expressed his concern that the Chancellor may have knowingly misled the House of Commons on the state of the public finances, which would be a breach of the ministerial code. He sought guidance from the Madam Deputy Speaker on the appropriate course of action for the House to address this issue. The Madam Deputy Speaker acknowledged Malthouse's concerns and advised him to write to the Speaker to raise the issue of privilege, as the potential misleading of the House is a serious matter. She also suggested that Malthouse could raise the issue of the accuracy of the estimates with the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee once they are elected next week. The debate highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability in the government's financial reporting to the House of Commons. The potential discrepancies between the estimates and the "Fixing the Foundations" document, as well as the apparent knowledge of officials, raised significant concerns among the members and prompted calls for further investigation and action.