Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to use debt securities to finance the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The package of measures that this government has delivered over the past months, in order to provide the critical support needed by individuals, families and businesses facing disruption due to COVID-19, has led to a significant increase in the Government’s financing requirement in the near term. As recently noted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK authorities’ aggressive policy response has been one of the best examples of coordinated action globally and has helped mitigate the damage, holding down unemployment and insolvencies.

As previously announced by the Chancellor, this additional financing will be fully funded via additional borrowing through the Government’s normal debt management operations. This includes through the increased sale of Government bonds (gilts) via the Debt Management Office (DMO). The majority of the Government's debt is held in gilts.

On 16 July 2020, HM Treasury most recently revised the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) financing remit for 2020-21, announcing that planned gilt sales will now total a minimum of £385bn in the period April to November (inclusive). The DMO is on target to raise this amount.