HL Deb 07 January 2003 vol 642 cc183-4WA
Lord Stoddart of Swindon

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will place in the Library of the House the titles of each Act of Parliament, and part thereof, concerning the powers and responsibilities of (a) the Bank of England; (b) clearing banks in the United Kingdom; (c) the Financial Services Authority; (d) credit institutions or companies; and; (e) markets and exchanging bodies; and concerning rules of auditing or statutory declarations, which are currently within the scope of European regulations, directives, or other directly applicable requirements and those, and others, which would be transferred from the powers and prerogatives of Parliament to any institution of the European Community in the event of its accession to the euro currency system. [HL650]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

I regret that a full list of the UK legislation in the areas specified that implement European requirements could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Participation by the United Kingdom in the single currency would entail the transfer of legal responsibility for monetary policy to the European Central Bank, as I pointed out in my response of 1 July 2002 (Official Report, col. WA 7), and would thus affect, inter alia, the powers of the Bank of England under the Bank of England Acts 1946 and 1998. Responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks and other financial instititions, within the framework established by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, pursuant where appropriate to the relevant sectoral EC measures, would remain with the Financial Services Authority.