Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is (a) (i) represented on and (ii) consulted by and (b) able to veto the decisions of the Bank of England's Banknote Character Advisory Committee.

The roles and responsibilities for the production and issuance of banknotes are detailed in the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 and the 2025 Memorandum of Understanding on the financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England.

The Bank of England is responsible for all aspects of the design, production, and issuance of banknotes, including the selection of characters, design features, and security measures. The Bank of England is required to seek HM Treasury approval only for the introduction of new denominations, as set out in section 1(1) of the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 and Section 9C of the Memorandum of Understanding. The Bank of England may keep HM Treasury informed of developments on a non-statutory, informal basis, but there is no requirement for consultation with HM Treasury on matters of design or character selection.

As a consequence, HM Treasury is not represented on the Bank of England’s Banknote Character Advisory Committee.

The 2025 Memorandum of Understanding can be found here:

Financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England Memorandum of Understanding