Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether third-party commentors, campaigners, including Martin Lewis, or pressure groups, outside of Government and Parliamentarians, were given pre-briefing to the Budget 2026 before the Chancellor’s statement to Pa
Answer
All our communications are done in line with the MacPherson principles. The announcement on standing charges was made publicly via a press release at 06:48 on 28 October 2026. It was announced separately from Budget in the usual way – via a press release Martin Lewis was not given advance briefing on any of the Budget announcements made by the Chancellor in the House.
Verdict: AMBER (42/100)
The reply directly answers the named part of the question: it states that Martin Lewis received no advance briefing on any Budget announcement made in the House. It does not clearly answer the wider question of whether other commentators, campaigners or pressure groups were briefed in advance. Its only broader statement is a general assurance that communications follow the MacPherson principles, which does not say whether any such groups were pre-briefed. A questioner would likely need to ask again about those other groups.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether third-party commentators, campaigners (including Martin Lewis) or pressure groups outside Government and Parliament were given pre-briefing on Budget 2026 before the Chancellor's statement to Parliament. | Partially Addressed | Direct | Statement 4 directly answers the named example by stating Martin Lewis received no advance briefing on any Budget announcement made in the House, which is a concrete, specific answer. However, the item also asks about commentators, campaigners and pressure groups more broadly, and the only broader statement (1, that communications follow the MacPherson principles) is generic and does not say whether any such groups were pre-briefed. Statements 2 and 3 concern the standing charges press release and do not bear on pre-briefing of outside parties, so they are not counted as answers. |