Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the evolution of quantitative easing on the sensitivity of real interest rates to changes to the nominal rate.

The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Decisions on the use of monetary policy tools, including quantitative easing, are for the judgement of the MPC.

The MPC’s monetary policy tools are designed to affect the economy as a whole, in order to meet the 2 per cent inflation target over the medium term.