U.K. Lawmakers Ask BOE, Treasury for Assessment of Brexit Deal

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. lawmakers have asked the Bank of England and the Treasury to publish assessments on the impact of Brexit before parliament comes to vote on any deal.

The request from Parliament's Treasury Committee risks dragging the central bank back into the mire of the political debate surrounding the decision to leave the European Union. It also evokes memories of studies before the Brexit vote, when the BOE -- and the Treasury -- came under fire for what the anti-EU side saw as overly gloomy forecasts and dubbed part of “Project Fear”.

The Treasury Committee has sent letters to the heads of the groups and the Financial Conduct Authority requesting analysis of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and future framework, once it has been negotiated.

While the most cataclysmic of those predictions have not come to pass, Britain has dropped to the bottom of the Group of Seven growth ranking after the referendum, while the pound's decline caused inflation to spike and pushed real earnings into negative territory. BOE Governor Mark Carney said in May that British households are about 900 pounds ($1,181) worse off than they would have been had the majority voted against Brexit.

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The BOE and FCA have been asked to comment on how any deal will affect their objectives, such as financial stability and consumer protection. Lawmakers also want the Treasury to publish an assessment of the impact of the agreement, and of no deal, against a status quo scenario.

“The Committee will press for robust and high-quality analysis on the consequences of Brexit for the economy and the public finances, so that parliament's decisions can be based on the best possible evidence,” said Nicky Morgan, who chairs the lawmaker group.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Lucy Meakin, Zoe Schneeweiss

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