Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of issuing retail bonds to support increased defence investment.

The majority of government borrowing is financed through the issuance of UK government bonds (known as gilts) by the UK Debt Management Office (DMO). In addition, some of the government’s financing is raised in the retail savings market through products offered by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Finance raised via gilts or NS&I products is generally not tied to specific areas of government spending, in order to offer the best value-for-money for taxpayers.

The government keeps the introduction of new debt financing instruments under regular review.