Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question HL15584 on Budget November 2025: Disclosure of Information, what assessment he has made of the impact of the trailing or announcing of Budget policy ahead of the Budget without a statement to Parliament on (a) paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code and (b) the Cabinet Office guide to Parliamentary Work, paras 121-122.

The Government takes its obligations to Parliament seriously. I regularly remind Cabinet of the importance of these obligations, and of the associated need to ensure that Parliament is respected, that Members on all sides of the House are well informed and that the Government is able to be scrutinised effectively.

In response to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/publications/), the Government made a commitment to look to update the language in Chapter 9 of the Ministerial Code, recognising the need to strike a balance between Parliament's vital constitutional role and Ministers' responsibility to keep the public informed about policy changes.

Changes to the language in the Ministerial Code would be reflected in the Guide to Parliamentary Work.