Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why quantitative easing has not resulted in a corresponding increase in the money supply.
Answer
The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy including use of the Asset Purchase Facility (APF). The Chancellor confirmed in the Budget that the MPC will continue to target 2 per cent inflation as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The Bank of England publishes quarterly reports on the APF in addition to minutes of the MPC meetings and a quarterly inflation report that sets out detailed economic analysis and inflation projections on which the MPC bases its decisions.