Minister defends budget briefings (continued…)
Mr Clarke’s remarks came after a fresh warning from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who granted a second urgent question in two days to force ministers to appear in the Commons to answer questions on the forthcoming financial statement.
Sir Lindsay highlighted that the ministerial code states important announcements of Government policy should be made to Parliament first when it is in session.
He told MPs: “I was disappointed to see more stories in the media today with apparently very well-briefed information about what will be in tomorrow’s Budget.”
Sir Lindsay accused the Government of treating the Commons in a “discourteous manner”, adding: “This House will not be taken for granted, it’s not right for everybody to be briefed, it’s not more important to go on the news in the morning, it’s more important to come here.”
But Mr Clarke, while responding to questions from Labour, said: “The ability of Parliament to scrutinise the Government, including the Budget, is clearly crucial, which is why we’ve got five days of parliamentary debate ahead of us this week and next, and why the Chancellor will be appearing in addition in front of two select committees of this House next week.”
He summarised “some of the headline announcements we’ve made on the Budget already”, adding: “With the caveat that the bulk of the detail of the Budget of course will be delivered by the Chancellor himself at this despatch box tomorrow.
“Importantly that includes all market-sensitive information. Part of the Government’s objective in trailing specific aspects of the Budget in advance is to help communicate to the public what we’re doing with their hard-earned money because we believe there is merit in clear and accurate information.”
