HC Deb 19 July 1995 vol 263 cc1251-2W
Mr. Matthew Banks

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the debt management review. [36381]

Mrs. Angela Knight

The debt management review was announced by the then Minister of State to the Treasury on 10 November 1994. It had the following terms of referenceTo review the existing arrangements for the setting of debt management policy, the selling of Government debt and the management of outstanding debt.

The review was conducted by the Treasury and involved an extensive process of consultation. It was conducted in close co-ordination with the Bank of England. The review covered gilt issuance only. It did not cover national savings.

The report of the review which I am today publishing jointly with the Bank of England contains the conclusions of the review and discusses a number of other current developments in the gilts market. In particular, the report outlines a number of proposals which represent a further move to an open, predictable and transparent gilts issuance policy, and which promote the liquidity and efficiency of the gilts market.

The Government and the Bank of England believe that, taken together, these changes will reduce funding costs, to the ultimate benefit of taxpayers. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.