Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of money supply figures (i) six-month real, (ii) M1, (iii) M3, (iv) M4 in determining the state of the economy and (b) potential merits of more or less monetary tightening.

The Government continually monitors a range of economic indicators and developments to consider the impact of these on businesses and households.

Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England and this includes decisions on Bank Rate and the assets held in the Asset Purchase Facility (APF). The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy, so the Government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.