Public Sector Debt

(asked on 18th August 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportions of UK national debt were owned by (1) UK households, (2) the Bank of England, (3) overseas purchasers, (4) banks and financial houses, and (5) insurance and pension funds, in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019, (d) 2020, and (e) 2021.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 1st September 2021

Most of the Government’s debt is in the form of publicly traded bonds (‘gilts’). The data most recently published on the website of the Debt Management Office (DMO) covering the distribution of gilt holdings are set out in the table below:

UK households

The Bank of England

Overseas holdings

Banks and other financial institutions

Insurance and pension funds

End-2017

0.2%

24.4%

27.9%

16.0%

31.2%

End-2018

0.2%

23.8%

28.3%

15.8%

31.5%

End-2019

0.2%

23.4%

30.1%

13.3%

32.8%

End-2020

0.2%

31.6%

28.2%

12.0%

27.9%

Q1 2021

0.2%

32.5%

27.6%

11.1%

28.4%

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