Bank of England operational independence: former Chief Economist at the Bank to give evidence

The meeting will be held in Committee Room 4 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:

• Lessons that could be learnt from the events of the last few weeks as regards the Bank’s performance at meeting its monetary and financial stability objectives.
• Whether the Bank of England has been asked to do too much.
• The trade-offs between the Bank’s primary and secondary objectives.
• The Chancellor’s annual remit letters.
• Risks associated with the Bank’s role as both a micro and- macroprudential regulator.
• If the growth in Quantitative Easing has blurred the independence of the Bank.
• Levels of transparency in the Financial Policy Committee’s and Prudential Regulation Authority’s work.

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.

The committee recently published a call for evidence. The deadline for the submissions is midday on Thursday 13 April 2023.