Bank of England operational independence: economist and author Stephen D King to give evidence

At 3pm on Tuesday 11 July the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee will be taking evidence from the economist and author, Stephen D King, who is currently a senior economic advisor to HSBC.

This evidence session, which is open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords. It will also be streamed live on Parliament TV.

Questions the committee is likely to cover in this session include:

• Is operational independence for the Bank of England a success?
• The Bank of England forecast that inflation would be transitory. What went wrong?
• Is the Bank’s price stability objective suitably defined?
• Has the Bank, and central banks in general, fallen victim to groupthink and/or poor models?
• Has quantitative easing and the size of the Bank’s balance sheet compromised its independence and credibility in the fight against inflation?
• Are there too many ex-Treasury officials serving as Deputy Governors?
• With central banks being asked to do more – on issues such as climate change – is there a risk of their being politicised and/or overstretched?
  
  More about this inquiry
  
  2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the Bank of England Act 1998. This Act gave the Bank of England its independence and reformed the structure, responsibilities and functions of the Bank.
  
  The Economic Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry to examine how operational independence is working. It will focus on the Bank’s role and remit; whether the governance structures of the Bank are appropriate; and how the Bank is being held accountable for its actions.
  
  It will not look at individual policy decisions that the Bank has taken.