Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative impact of the growth in money supply during COVID-19 as the root cause of inflation, as opposed to other causes such as (1) the conflict in Ukraine, and (2) the price of natural gas.

Inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022 and was above target for 33 consecutive months. Inflation has now fallen close to target and is expected to remain close to target.

Monetary policy, including the stock of assets held in the Asset Purchase Facility, which influences the supply of money, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Bank of England. The Government remains committed to monetary policy independence and supporting the MPC to return inflation to target sustainably, and does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.