The Treasury is facing calls to investigate a potential Budget leak after a report accurately forecasting a tax rise on banks was published shortly before Chancellor John Healey unveiled his plans in the Commons.
Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, has written to both the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) seeking an urgent explanation for how the information entered the public domain before the Budget announcement.
Bloomberg Report Precedes Budget
The row centres on a Bloomberg report published at 10.45am on Wednesday, which said Mr Healey's increase in bank taxes would be less severe than lenders had feared and would be temporary.
When the Chancellor delivered his Budget later that day, he confirmed that the bank corporation tax surcharge would be temporarily increased from three per cent to six per cent for 15 months from January 2027 to help fund measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures.
In both letters, Dame Meg noted that Bloomberg's report cited "people familiar with the matter" and appeared to contain information that was "more than idle speculation".
Market Sensitivity Concerns
She also raised concerns that bank share prices appeared to react to the report before the Budget was formally presented to Parliament, highlighting the potential market sensitivity of the information.
Writing to Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler, Dame Meg said: "This appears to have been more than idle speculation, and it had implications for relevant securities."
She described any unauthorised disclosure as "deeply concerning" and asked the Treasury to explain who had access to the information before the Budget, whether ministers or officials had briefed interested parties, and what steps were being taken to establish how the details emerged.
Regulator and Committee Response
In a separate letter to FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi, she urged the regulator to examine whether there had been a breach of market-sensitive information rules.
The Treasury Committee is due to begin its inquiry into the Budget next week and Dame Meg has requested a response "as soon as possible".
Under longstanding convention, major tax and spending measures are closely guarded before Budget day because of their potential impact on financial markets and individual companies.
In her letter, Dame Meg asked the Treasury to confirm whether banks, their representatives or industry trade bodies had received any advance indication of the changes before the Chancellor delivered his statement to Parliament. She also sought details of how many ministers, civil servants and advisers had access to information about the bank surcharge before the announcement was made.
Referring to previous work carried out by the Treasury to strengthen Budget security procedures, Dame Meg warned that any unauthorised disclosure of market-sensitive information would raise serious concerns.
The Bloomberg report suggested the increase in the surcharge would be both lower than some lenders had feared and temporary in nature. Both points were subsequently reflected in measures announced by the Chancellor in the Commons.
Mr Healey confirmed that the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge would rise from three per cent to six per cent for 15 months from January 2027 as part of plans to help fund support measures for households.
Dame Meg said she wanted HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority to work together to establish how the information emerged, whether any rules had been broken and whether further safeguards were needed to prevent similar incidents in future. Both letters have been published by the Treasury Committee and responses from the Treasury and the financial regulator are expected to be made public in due course.
