HC Deb 09 February 2004 vol 417 c1171W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to whom the minutes of the Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability are distributed; and when and under what circumstances they can be made available to hon. Members. [153726]

Ruth Kelly

The minutes of the Tripartite Committee are distributed to the Chancellor, the Financial Secretary and other officials at the Treasury, Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. The minutes must remain confidential because of constraints under EC and UK law, because publication could discourage private sector practitioners and foreign financial authorities from supplying information on an informal basis and because the material is often market sensitive.

Dr. Cable

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the agenda items covered by the monthly meetings of the Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability in the last six months. [153727]

Ruth Kelly

The agendas of Tripartite Standing Committee meetings must remain confidential because even the disclosure that a certain issue has been discussed could be market sensitive, or in some circumstances, exacerbate problems which the Committee is seeking to address.

The range of subjects that the Committee has discussed was described in a note by HM Treasury to the Treasury Committee in January 2003.