New HMRC users go digital, a Safeguarding podcast is launched, and how last year’s budget was leaked
Today we discuss HMRC’s move to digital services for new users, DBS launch a brand new podcast aimed at those of us responsible for safeguarding, and we divulge how last year’s budget was leaked.
HMRC Moves to GOV.UK One Login for New Users
HM Revenue & Customs has started using GOV.UK One Login for taxpayers signing up to its digital services for the first time.
This means that if you do not already have a Government Gateway account, you will now register using an email-and-password login rather than needing to obtain a 10-12 digit Government Gateway ID.
For now, this only affects new HMRC users. Existing Government Gateway users do not need to switch yet.
Even if you already have a GOV.UK One Login that you use for another government service, you will still need to use your government gateway to access HMRC’s services for the time being.
HMRC plans to roll out GOV.UK One Logins gradually and will contact existing users when it is ready for them to move over.
Eventually, GOV.UK One Logins will become the single login for everything from filing a tax return to renewing a passport.
If you need help registering for or accessing HMRC services, please contact us. We will be happy to help you! See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-introducesgovukonelogin-for-new-customers
DBS Launches New Safeguarding Podcast for Employers
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched a new weekly podcast series, ‘DBS discussions: Safeguarding in Focus,’ aimed at employers, HR teams and anyone working in safeguarding.
Each episode of the podcast features a DBS specialist explaining how key DBS processes work in practice. Topics will include:
- How DBS checks fit into recruitment.
- Common questions from employers.
- Clarity on eligibility and regulated activity.
- How barring decisions are made.
- The role DBS plays in wider safeguarding.
The first episode was released on 9 February 2026, and introduced the function of DBS and the impact of checks in recruitment.
New episodes will be available each week on Spotify, Amazon and YouTube.
New Detail Published on How Last Year’s Budget Leak Unfolded
The government has now published its Review into the 2025 Autumn Budget leak, explaining how the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) was accessible online an hour before the Chancellor was due to speak.
The Review sets out measures that will be taken to prevent this from happening again.
What actually happened?
The Review incorporates findings from the National Cyber Security Centre’s investigation, which found that the leak was a result of repeated attempts to access the webpage holding the EFO, rather than a hostile cyber-attack.
The fault lay in a misconfiguration in the way that the OBR’s website was set up. This meant that the webpage holding the report was accessible earlier than the OBR intended. Users who guessed the webpage address correctly based on previous reports were able to access the report.
The investigation found that around 520 of the 534 early access attempts were linked to just four IP addresses from the same internet provider. Investigators believe it is reasonable to assume this was the same individual or organisation.
The one or more individuals who secured early access seem to have then used social media and messaging apps to spread word of the early access. In all, the EFO was downloaded 24,701 times before the mistake was noticed.
What is changing?
The OBR is due to publish an EFO at the time of the Spring Forecast announcement on 3 March 2026. Historically, the OBR has published these reports on its own website rather than a government website in order to maintain its independence.
However, because of the sensitivity of the information contained in the EFO, it will be published on GOV.UK by HM Treasury. HM Treasury has commented that doing this will not give it access to any information ahead of time of which it is not already aware.
For future EFO and other market-sensitive publication releases, it is planned that OBR will move to using GOV.UK.
In readiness for the 2026 Budget, likely to be held in the autumn, there are plans to bring in other internal measures that will enhance security and limit data access.
To read the Budget Information Security Review in full, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-information-security-review