Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering adjusting the mandate of the Bank of England to make (1) full employment or (2) nominal GDP an equal or higher priority than inflation.

Monetary Policy in the UK has the primary objective of achieving price stability, as set out in the Bank of England Act 1998. Price stability is an essential pre-requisite for long run growth.

As the Chancellor reaffirmed in the remit of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Budget, price stability is defined as a symmetric inflation target of 2 per cent, as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

The Government’s commitment to price stability and the inflation target remains absolute.