§ Mr. Michael BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 606, what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of independence for the Bank of England. [13188]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe Chancellor carefully considered the case for granting greater autonomy to the Bank of England at the time of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's report on the role of the Bank of England. The Government, in response to that report, said that we believed the current institutional arrangements for monetary policy—including publishing the minutes of the Chancellor's monthly meetings with the Governor—were fully capable of meeting the targets that the Government have set for inflation. We also said that we remained concerned about the questions of accountability to Parliament, and to the public, that a move towards greater autonomy for the bank would raise.