Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will explain the basis on which the inflation target for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is set; and the circumstances in which that figure would be raised above two per cent.

A comprehensive Review of the Monetary Policy Framework was published in 2013. The current remit for the Monetary Policy Committee reflects the assessment set out in the 2013 Review, which includes retaining a flexible inflation targeting framework, with a 2 per cent symmetric inflation target. The remit also states that the MPC may allow inflation to deviate from this target temporarily in order not to cause undesirable volatility in output due to the short-term trade-offs involved.