Monetary Policy Committee

HC Deb 12 November 1997 vol 300 cc566-7W

Mr. Swinney

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment of Scotland's current economic conditions was taken into account by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee in reaching its recent decision to raise interest rates. [15519]

Mrs. Liddell

In reaching its decision to raise interest rates on 6 November, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was able to draw on the information gained from business surveys and from the Bank's network of 12 regional agents which cover the whole of the United Kingdom. The Bank has an agency in Glasgow, which is able to obtain a first-hand account of economic conditions in Scotland. Detailed reasons for the interest rate change will be made clear in the MPC minutes, which will be published on 10 December.