Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) department, (2) executive agency, (3) board, (4) court, or (5) other body, is responsible for ensuring that the Bank of England’s independence is not compromised through the financing of UK Government debt.

The Bank of England (the Bank) has statutory responsibilities for monetary policy and financial stability, and independence from the government to carry out these responsibilities as enshrined in the Bank of England Act (1998). The Bank is accountable to both the public and to Parliament, through scrutiny by the Treasury Committee.

The remit of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set by the Chancellor, and is reaffirmed annually through an exchange of open letters with the Governor of the Bank.

The separation of monetary and fiscal policy is a key pillar of the government’s macroeconomic framework. As such, the responsibility for financing the government’s needs was transferred from the Bank to the UK’s Debt Management Office (DMO), an executive agency of HM Treasury, in 1998. The Treasury sets the DMO’s objective for debt management independently of monetary policy.