Bank of England operational independence: Chair of the Bank’s oversight board to give evidence
Monday 19 June 2023
At 3pm on Tuesday 20 June the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee will be taking evidence from the Chair of the Bank of England's Court of Directors, David Roberts
This evidence session, which is open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 4A of the House of Lords. It will also be streamed live on Parliament TV.
Topics the committee is likely to cover in this session include:
- Successes and failings since 1998 of an operationally independent Bank of England.
- How the role and powers of the Court has changed over the years.
- Whether the Bank, and central banks in general, have fallen victim to groupthink and/or poor models.
- Whether the Court should have more powers as regards appointments, in particular of the Governor and Deputy Governors?
- Performance of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).
- Whether the mechanisms to hold the Bank to account, and to scrutinise its operations, are working efficiently.
- Complexity of the Bank’s remit and the management of trade-offs between its primary and secondary objectives.
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.
