UK Inquiry Tracker

Managing government borrowing

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 12 Sep 2023 Closed: 3 May 2024 Parliament page

Government debt has risen over time, following support provided for the banking sector during the 2007-08 financial crisis, and measures to protect the economy and public health during the pandemic. The Committee reported in 2018 that high levels of Government debt left little room for manoeuvre in public spending, with … Read more

6 Recommendations

17 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Event

Activity timeline 4 events

3 May
2024

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifteenth report from Session 2023-24

5 Mar
2024

Report published

Fifteenth Report - Managing government borrowing

7 Dec
2023

Oral evidence

Managing government borrowing; Pre-panel: Managing government borrowing

7 Dec
2023

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House

Managing government borrowing

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

7 Dec 2023

View on parliament.uk

Managing government borrowing; Pre-panel: Managing government borrowing

Dax Harkins · National Savings and Investments James Bowler CB · HM Treasury Richard Hughes · Office for Budget Responsibility Sir Robert Stheeman · Debt Management Office

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Fifteenth Report - Managing government borrowing	HC 74	5 Mar 2024	23	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 results

3 Conclusion Acknowledged

Fifteenth Report - Managing govern…

Outline steps to address information gaps for identifying unlawful activity in gilt sales.

The Treasury and the DMO lack the information needed to better identify unlawful activity and understand the risks posed by overseas investors, potentially reducing the value for money from future gilt sales. In May 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority … Read more The Treasury and the DMO lack the information needed to better identify unlawful activity and understand the risks posed by overseas investors, potentially reducing the value for money from future gilt sales. In May 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally found that, between 2009 and 2013, five major banks unlawfully shared competitively sensitive information, potentially impacting the DMO’s gilt auctions. Collusion is illegal and while it is not the DMO’s responsibility to police the behaviours of auction participants, it needs to put measures in place so it can monitor and minimise harmful behaviour, including the collection of information that could help unearth unlawful activity in a timely manner. The current measures, such as blind bids, might not be sufficient given the alleged unlawful activity took place nearly 15 years ago and was not identified at the time, with the DMO apparently unaware some of its auctions may have been manipulated. Similarly, the Treasury and the DMO hold limited information on the ultimate owners of UK debt held by overseas investors, which makes up around 25% of UK debt – the second highest in the G7. There is a lack of consensus on the potential risk this creates. For example, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) see overseas holders of UK gilts as more sensitive to market movements compared to domestic investors as they prioritise higher returns over longer-term investments. Meanwhile, the DMO considers foreign investors to be an important part of its diverse investor base. Recommendation 3A: The Treasury, together with the DMO, should write to us, within two months of the conclusion of the CMA’s investigation, outlining what steps they will take to address the information gaps around identifying potentially unlawful activity, including: • The changes the Treasury will make to its gilt selling process in response to the CMA’s investigation; • Undertaking a formal review of the DMO’s gilt selling proce Show less

Government Response

The government agreed but stated it currently lacks visibility of underlying gilt owners. It committed to reviewing sovereign bond ownership data from other countries to learn from their approaches, rather than detailing immediate steps to address information gaps or change gilt selling processes.

HM Treasury

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4 Recommendation Acknowledged

Fifteenth Report - Managing govern…

Set out key milestones and contingency plans to prevent further Rainbow Programme delays.

We are concerned that significant problems with NS&I’s procurement of its Rainbow Programme could leave limited flexibility or room for further delays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Treasury required NS&I to raise £35 billion from retail savers – more than … Read more

Government Response

The government agreed, stating NS&I is working to formulate an integrated transition plan with key project milestones for its Rainbow Programme, which will be shared with the Committee when finalised. Expected costs for extending the Atos contract would be agreed upon extension, and contingency plans are commercially sensitive.

HM Treasury

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17 Conclusion Acknowledged

Fifteenth Report - Managing govern…

Mini-budget significantly increased borrowing costs and prompted OBR forecast agreement update.

We asked the Treasury about the impact of the announcement of the government’s September 2022 Growth Plan (or “mini-budget”) on the cost of government borrowing. The Treasury explained that in the aftermath of the mini-budget, it required the DMO to … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the committee's findings regarding the mini-budget's market impact, stating it is committed to learning lessons from previous crisis episodes and has established projects to enhance preparedness for future financial stability events.

HM Treasury

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18 Conclusion Acknowledged

Fifteenth Report - Managing govern…

NS&I's single provider model limited pandemic borrowing, prompting Rainbow Programme for scalability.

In 2020–21, during the pandemic, the Treasury required NS&I to raise £35 billion from retail savers, which was nearly a sixfold increase in its original remit for that year. Since 2003–04, NS&I has only raised more than £15 billion on … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the committee's observations on NS&I's pandemic performance, stating it is learning lessons from crisis episodes and NS&I’s transformation programme will deliver the necessary systems scalability and robustness.

HM Treasury

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19 Conclusion Acknowledged

Fifteenth Report - Managing govern…

Rainbow Programme behind schedule due to non-compliant bids in digital experience procurement process.

However, the Rainbow Programme is already behind schedule. NS&I’s contract with Atos was due to expire in 2024, but delays to the Rainbow Programme resulted in NS&I extending the contract until April 2025. We asked NS&I about the reasons for … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the committee's findings on the Rainbow Programme delays, stating it is working with new providers to formulate an integrated transition plan and improve governance, which it will share with the Committee upon completion.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 23 of 6 classified

Accepted 11

Acknowledged 5

Deferred 6

Not Addressed 1

Total 6 recs + 17 conclusions