Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the inter-relationship between monetary and fiscal policy.

The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is an important feature of the UK’s macroeconomic framework. Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England, whereas the Treasury has responsibility for fiscal policy. The MPC has the primary objective, set out in law, of maintaining price stability, currently defined as an inflation target of 2 per cent, as measured by the 12 month increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).