§ Mr. Matthew BanksTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the economy. [29179]
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeAchieving low inflation is a key feature of the Government's economic policy to deliver prosperity and secure jobs. The Government's current aim for underlying inflation is to keep within the range 1 to 4 per cent., and to get down to the lower half of the range—that is 2½ per cent. or less—by the end of the present Parliament. I am fully committed to achieving that aim and do not propose to change it.
Beyond this Parliament, I propose that our aim will be to continue to achieve underlying inflation—measured by the RPI excluding mortgage interest payments—of 2½ per cent. or less. Monetary policy will be set consistently to achieve this target. This should ensure that inflation will remain in the range 1 to 4 per cent.
Achieving this target would put us on course to achieve the best performance on inflation this country has seen for over half a century and one of the best performances in Europe.