Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 August 2024 to Question HL519 on Public Expenditure, for what reason parts of that speech were redacted; and whether the Permanent Secretary had a role in that redaction.

The speech was redacted to remove political content.

Following the recognition of an administrative error within hours of the Chancellor’s speech being uploaded to GOV.UK, HM Treasury swiftly amended the text, and an updated, redacted version was uploaded, having been reviewed by senior officials.

HM Treasury remains committed to full transparency. The department have reviewed and strengthened its procedures within the communications team to avoid such an administrative error being repeated.