§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the appropriate measure of inflation for defining the inflation target; and if he plans to introduce an inflation target defined in terms of the harmonised index of consumer prices. [65678]
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to adopt the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices as a target measure for inflation. [66054]
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set an inflation target for the Bank of England cast in terms of the harmonised index of consumer prices, as recommended to him by the IMF in their annual Article IV assessment of British economic policy. [66425]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 14 January 1999]: The Bank of England Act 1998 requires the Treasury to specify what price stability is to be taken to consist of at least once in every period of 12 months. In his last Budget on 17 March 1998, official report, column 1098, the Chancellor confirmed the Government's inflation target is 2½ per cent. defined by the 12-month increase in the RPI excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX).