Chancellor of the Exchequer Mark Drakeford has been accused of breaching ministerial rules by making political comments in a statement published on the Welsh government website.

The statement said last week’s Budget was “the first steps in the right direction after 14 years of economic mismanagement by previous UK governments”.

Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones said a “politically charged statement on a publicly funded website run by civil servants” breached ministers’ code of conduct.

The Welsh government said ministers were “entitled” to comment on the actions of other UK governments.

Member for South Wales East, Jones, raised the issue with the chief minister and asked Eluned Morgan to seek guidance on whether a breach had occurred.

In his letter, Jones says the statement violates the government’s guidance that “communication should be objective and descriptive, avoiding biases or critical tones that could undermine constructive engagement with opposition groups.”

The code of conduct that Welsh ministers must follow says that “government communications should seek to explain the decisions of the government of the day in a balanced and objective manner”.

“Government communications should not attack or criticize groups that may oppose a decision or policy,” the guidance states.

In Drakeford’s statement, published by civil servants on the Welsh government website, Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s Budget was praised as a first step towards “repairing the damage caused by previous UK governments over the last 14 years”.

He also said it “marks the first steps in the right direction after 14 years of economic mismanagement by previous UK governments and the impact their decisions have had on people and communities.”

A Welsh government spokesman said: “Welsh ministers are fully entitled to express their views on the actions of other governments in the UK and the context in which they make their own decisions.

“The member will receive a response to his letter in due course.”