Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Fifteenth Report - Managing government borrowing
Public Accounts Committee
HC 74
Published 5 March 2024
Recommendations
8
Deferred
CMA provisionally found major banks broke competition laws affecting DMO gilt auctions.
Recommendation
In May 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally found that five major banks broke competition laws on UK gilts. Each bank allegedly unlawfully shared competitively sensitive information relating to the buying and selling of UK government gilts. The …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the implicit recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee with the requested information within two months of the CMA's investigation concluding, but the target implementation date is TBD due to the CMA's open-ended timeline.
HM Treasury
View Details →
Conclusions (5)
6
Conclusion
Deferred
To deliver its remit, NS&I must balance the interests of savers by offering a fair return, and the interests of the taxpayer by minimising finance costs. At the same time, it must also maintain an appropriate competitive position in the retail savings market. When questioned on how it minimises the …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to improve performance measurement. It commits to examining international best practice and assessing quantitative and qualitative measures by Spring 2025, and will write to the Committee upon conclusion of this analysis.
9
Conclusion
Deferred
The DMO stressed that it expected all GEMMs to “adhere 100%” to all regulations and the applicable laws, but because the DMO is not itself a regulator it cannot police the behaviour of the GEMMs. It added that GEMMs, which the DMO appointed, have “exclusive bidding rights at auctions” and …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation and commits that HMT and DMO will write to the Committee with information within two months of the Competition and Market Authority’s investigation conclusion, deferring any further actions until then.
10
Conclusion
Deferred
We asked the OBR whether any improvements could be made to government’s borrowing processes. The OBR expressed a desire for more information on the owners of UK gilts held overseas, which it said represented arounds 25% of all UK debt – the second highest in the G7. It explained that …
Government Response Summary
The government claims the recommendation is implemented, stating it currently lacks visibility of beneficial gilt owners. However, it commits to reviewing sovereign bond ownership data from other countries to learn from their approaches.
11
Conclusion
Deferred
We asked the Treasury how much it knew about the owners of UK debt held overseas. The Treasury recognised that it did not have a “very accurate picture” because gilts were a “traded commodity” and may be sold on. The DMO explained that it cannot know who the ultimate beneficial …
Government Response Summary
The government claims the recommendation is implemented, stating it currently lacks visibility of beneficial gilt owners. However, it commits to reviewing sovereign bond ownership data from other countries to learn from their approaches.
16
Conclusion
Deferred
Not only does the government face growing pressure to borrow more in the future, but it also needs to ensure it can repay its current debts. The DMO issues gilts of varying length, ranging from one to more than 50 years. The period between a gilt being first issued and …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to improve performance measurement. It commits to examining international best practice and assessing quantitative and qualitative measures by Spring 2025, and will write to the Committee upon conclusion of this analysis.