6. What consideration he has given to reforming the membership of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. (902933)

The Government are protecting the incomes of low-income households by freezing fuel duty and taking 2.7 million people out of tax by increasing their personal allowance. The best way to raise—[Interruption.]

Order. I think that the Minister is a tad confused. We are on Question 6, which is about membership of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.

I beg your pardon, Mr Speaker.

The Monetary Policy Committee consists of the individuals who are best qualified to make the decisions necessary to achieve the Government’s monetary policy objectives: the Governor of the Bank of England, the two deputy governors, two members of the Bank with responsibility for monetary policy and market operations, and four external members who are appointed by the Chancellor. All appointments are made on merit.

Diolch, Mr Speaker.

Regardless of the result of the referendum in Scotland, it seems inevitable that the devolved Governments will have more fiscal responsibility over the coming years. Fiscal empowerment needs to be matched with monetary policy-setting reform. Does the Minister agree that one option would be to appoint representatives of the devolved nations—and, arguably, representatives of territories outside the United Kingdom that use sterling, such as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man—to the MPC, to ensure that monetary policy is formulated on the basis of the economic requirements of every part of the sterling zone? Would that not truly represent a partnership of equals?

No, I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. I think the MPC is constituted in the right way. He knows that monetary policy is not a devolved responsibility, and there are no plans to change that.

As well as ensuring more diversity in terms of gender, will my hon. Friend ensure more diversity of opinion and outlook in the membership of the MPC? Specifically, may we have a few free market economists who recognise that cheap credit is a consequence of economic success, not necessarily a cause of it?

I like the contribution my hon. Friend makes to Parliament so I hope that he is not applying to join the MPC. I agree, however, that when appointments are made on merit, diversity is important.

I wonder if the Minister can tell us why there have been no women on the MPC since June 2010. Why has the Chancellor not appointed a single woman to the MPC over those last four years, and does the Minister agree with Labour that it is time to put that right?

Appointments to the MPC should always be made on merit and—[Interruption.] Diversity is, of course, always an important consideration. Factors in decisions on appointing external members to the MPC include looking at career training and background as well as ethnicity and gender. [Interruption.] The Government would like to see more women on the MPC and will encourage them to apply. [Interruption.] It is also worth noting that four women have already been part of the MPC.

Following on from the previous question, how will the Government be encouraging more women to apply for jobs on the MPC?

Whenever there is a vacancy on the MPC, the Government look at encouraging women to apply and will often invite women to apply to ensure that we can make our best efforts to increase diversity.