Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on the public purse of the overall cost of intervention in UK banks following the financial crisis of 2007-08.

The Office for Budget Responsibility regularly publishes its assessment of the fiscal impact of financial interventions in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The publications can be viewed online at www.budgetresponsibility.org.uk

In announcing the sale of the Government’s shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland, the Chancellor is acting on independent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and a report from Rothschild investment bank that it is in the public interest for the Government to begin now to sell its stake. The report by Rothschild, and the corresponding advice from the Governor, are both available online at www.gov.uk.