Speaking at a media event in London, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said he “welcomed” the chance to discuss the Scottish Government’s plan to share the pound after independence. While he himself has not had any contact as yet with officials or ministers from Edinburgh, he acknowledged that Sir Mervyn King, his predecessor, had held “very basic technical discussions” with the First Minister, Alex Salmond.
Mark Carney
Governor of the Bank of England
“I certainly welcome the opportunity to have those discussions,” he said, adding that there had been “an effort to set up a meeting and I’m sure it will happen at some point.”
Mr Carney was also asked about the proposals in this week’s White Paper of independence under which an independent Scotland would keep the institution as lender of last resort. All he would say to this was that he would respond to such “technical” questions in due course. “There are a number of important complex issues related to these broader questions,” he explained, “and the bigger issue is ultimately a decision for the Scottish people. They will need to make those decisions as fully informed as possible. I think there will be a more appropriate time and a more appropriate venue to provide a more detailed perspective.”
A spokesman for the First Minister said that officials had already held “technical discussions with their counterparts at the Bank of England to assist the Fiscal Commission with their work, including the publication of their report on a macroeconomic framework for an independent Scotland, which includes proposals for a shared sterling area. The first minister met with the previous governor of the bank, Sir Mervyn King, before and after those technical discussions, and he looks forward to meeting the new governor in due course.”
The question of a shared currency was raised both in the White Paper and the subsequent debate in the Scottish Parliament. Ministers insist that a currency union with the rest of the UK would be possible. However, opponents have questioned this.