§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on UK interest rates of(a) the decision to introduce a statutory minimum wage and (b) his spending plans published in July. [55837]
§ Ms HewittInterest rate decisions are a matter for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. The MPC sets interest rates to meet the Government's inflation target, taking into account all available information. We will continue to give the MPC one hundred per cent. support in whatever difficult decisions it has to make on interest rates.