§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish minutes of his monthly monetary meetings with the Governor of the Bank of England.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeYes. I agree with the recommendation by the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee that I should publish, with a lag, minutes of my monthly monetary meetings with the Governor. I believe that greater transparency has helped the operation of monetary policy and increased accountability.
I am, therefore, publishing today the minutes of the meetings held in January, February and the beginning of March. Thereafter, the minutes of each meeting will be published around two weeks after the subsequent meeting has taken place. I have arranged for copies of the minutes to be placed in the Library of the House.
I am confident that the minutes of these and future meetings will confirm the Government's commitment to sustained low inflation and sound monetary policy.