Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the quantitative easing programme on (a) bank lending generally and (b) M4 lending.

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).

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

The Bank of England’s paper, “The United Kingdom’s quantitative easing policy: design, operation and impact”, published in 2011, notes that, “Asset purchases may also have a stimulatory impact…by influencing bank lending, though this channel would not be expected to be material during times of financial crisis.”