Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 3 December (HL10488) and the exchange of letters between the Bank of England and HM Treasury on the Asset Purchase Facility on 29 January 2009, whether the Monetary Policy Committee still requires the consent of HM Treasury to engage in quantitative easing through the Asset Purchase Facility.

The Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility is indemnified by HM Treasury. Due to this indemnity any decision to increase the limit of purchases to be financed through the issuance of central bank reserves requires Chancellor authorisation. However, the judgement of what size and composition of the Asset Purchase Facility is warranted is for the independent Monetary Policy Committee. The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and the Government does not comment on the conduct and effectiveness of monetary policy.