Treasury minister and Debt Management Office’s chief executive to give evidence to Lords inquiry on UK’s national debt

At 3pm the committee will hear from:

• Bim Afolami MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury
• Ruth Curtice, Director for Fiscal Group, HM Treasury.

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

• Will the recent cuts to NI promote medium-to-longer-term debt sustainability?
• What is your view on the evidence heard by the committee that the Government’s fiscal rules are easily gamed and not conducive to debt sustainability?
• The OBR’s long-term projections for rising debt are based on a steady increase in the dependency ratio. How can the Government’s policies on immigration be squared with the need to mitigate this rise?
• Could you comment on the UK’s debt sustainability with respect to the transition to net zero?
• How is the Government looking to resolve the UK’s “productivity puzzle”?
• At what point does the overall tax-take have a detrimental impact upon growth?
• What are your expectations for the path of interest rates over the medium to longer term; and what will this mean for debt sustainability?

At 4.15pm the committee will hear from:

• Sir Robert Stheeman, Chief Executive of the Debt Management Office.

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

• What is the market’s appetite for UK public debt?
• What pressures does the current structure of the UK’s national debt place on funding requirements?
• You have said that "policymaking cannot be divorced from the reality of the market." What happens if they are divorced?

These evidence sessions, which are open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords. They will also be streamed live and on demand on Parliament TV.

More about the 'How sustainable is our national debt?' inquiry

UK public sector net debt, often referred to as ‘national debt’, currently stands at just under 100 per cent of GDP.

The UK’s growth outlook remains weak; quantitative easing has significantly increased the sensitivity of the UK’s debt to changes in short-term interest rates; and it is unclear whether the Government’s fiscal rule, as it relates to the national debt, is fit for purpose.

The committee’s inquiry will investigate whether the UK’s national debt is on a sustainable path; if not, what steps are required; and whether the Government’s fiscal rule regarding the national debt is meaningful.