Clause 25
Housing and Regeneration Bill
5:45 pm
George Young (North West Hampshire, Conservative)
I have another short intervention on loans that are guaranteed by the Secretary of State. The Minister said that in an earlier life he was an auditor. That means he has removed the excuse of ignorance for the question that I am about to put to him. Will the guarantees given by the Secretary of State under this clause score so far as the public sector borrowing requirement is concerned? Will they form part of the calculation towards the golden rule? The clause makes it quite clear that if the Secretary of State gives a guarantee, Parliament has to be told about it, so the information will be in the public domain. It would be helpful to know whether the guarantees given under this clause will go towards the total liability of the Government and therefore score against the PSBR and the Chancellor’s golden rule?