Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has commissioned recent research on the effect of inflation on household debt.
The department has commissioned no such research.
The independent Monetary Policy Committee has the primary objective of maintaining price stability. This objective is defined as an inflation target of 2% as measured by the twelve month increase in the Consumer Prices Index.
Households’ financial positions have improved since the financial crisis: Household net financial wealth as a share of income is close to record highs; the debt to income ratio is significantly below pre-crisis levels; and debt interest payments as a share of income are at a record low.