Bank of England operational independence: George Osborne and Ed Balls 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:

• How well operational independence is working.
• Whether the Bank of England has been asked to do too much.
• Whether the Chancellor’s remit letters are scrutinised enough.
• If the growth in Quantitative Easing has blurred the independence of the Bank.
• Whether the current regulatory structure would have given the UK greater protection from the 2008 financial crisis.
• Levels of transparency in the Financial Policy Committee’s and Prudential Regulation Authority’s work.
• Whether legislation since 1998 has produced the right balance between the Bank of England’s accountability, transparency and operational independence.
• 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.