Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of quantitative easing on the (1) value weighted maturity of government funding, and (2) sensitivity of government finance to interest rate changes.

The Office of Budget Responsibility set out in its March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook the impact of quantitative easing on the average maturity of UK government bonds and debt interest sensitivity of government finances.

Quantitative easing has reduced the mean maturity of UK government debt from 15 years to 11 years. After accounting for the impact of quantitative easing, the effective average maturity of the UK’s gilt portfolio remains much higher than G7 peers.

Once quantitative easing reaches its current target size, it will increase central government debt interest sensitivity to a 1 percent rise in short term rates by £9bn. The OBR’s report noted that quantitative easing is expected to provide a net interest saving for the public sector of £17.8bn in 2021-22.