PLAYING CATCH UP!

The age of devolution has given way to an age of self-government its time the financial institutions caught up with this fact. The ongoing debate in the UK about further devolution of powers has largely focused on rebalancing political power within these islands there also has to be a debate about rebalancing the UK’s economy so that all nations are directly involved in shared institutions such as the Bank of England. 

It is vital that Wales has a voice at every level of decision-making, which influences all Welsh life. This is especially true in those areas and institutions which impact on our people’s jobs and livelihoods. It is important if not vital that UK monetary policy works for Wales. 

Decisions made by the Bank of England’s have a considerable influence on the lives of the people of Wales and it is important that Welsh interest should be reflected within the decision-making process. It is time for the institution’s name to be amended to reflect its wider answerability within these islands.

There is a need for a Welsh Government nominee on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. There is also a need for a new approach when it comes to assessing the nature of the Bank’s interventions, whether that’s interest rates levels or other forms of intervention such as quantitative easing.

There has to be a ‘nations and regions’ impact assessment for all decisions made by the Bank of England. In a practical sense that would mean rather than taking a UK level position, the potential impact and the existing needs of the nations and regions of the UK should also be central to decision making.