Clause 223
Banking Bill
3:00 pm
Mark Hoban (Shadow Minister, Treasury; Fareham, Conservative)
I understand the arguments why we should not disclose the level of covert support as it would not then be covert. However, there are systems such as the special liquidity scheme, which is not a covert mechanism for support and is currently disclosed on the weekly return. That is a legitimate form of liquidity support. If the weekly return is suspended and there is no commitment to regular publication of a similar summary, I am not sure how the Bank and Treasury can be held accountable by Parliament for the amounts that they deploy through the special liquidity scheme. Can the Minister tease out or separate the covert from the overt support that the Bank might offer?