Point of Order

In the House of Commons, a minister has raised a point of order regarding concerns about the accuracy of the government's financial information presented to the House. The minister stated 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 showed a significantly different picture of the public finances. The minister and other members questioned the Chancellor about this discrepancy, and the minister noted that the Chancellor appeared evasive and rattled during the debate. The minister has since received a letter from the Cabinet Secretary to the shadow Chancellor, which explains that officials knew at the time that the estimates laid by the Chancellor were incorrect. Additionally, the minister has obtained a letter from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in response to a freedom of information request, which indicates that the OBR was shown the contents of the "Fixing the Foundations" document two days before the estimates were laid before the House. The minister is concerned that this raises the issue of whether the Chancellor has knowingly misled the House of Commons on the state of the public finances and her knowledge at the time. Knowingly misleading the House is a breach of the ministerial code, and the minister has sought guidance from the Deputy Speaker on the appropriate course of action. The Deputy Speaker has advised the minister to write to the Speaker to make the point that he is concerned the Chancellor may have misled the House. Additionally, the Deputy Speaker suggested that the minister may choose to raise the issue of the accuracy of the estimates with the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee once they are elected next week.