MPs urge clarity from Sajid Javid over appointment timetable for Bank of England governor
An influential group of MPs has demanded a timetable from the chancellor for the appointment of the next Bank of England governor.
Following reports that the successor to Mark Carney is not likely to be decided by the current autumn deadline, the Treasury committee has today written to Sajid Javid asking him to confirm whether he will stick to the current timetable.
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The highly-anticipated appointment of a new Bank of England governor could be delayed until after a general election, according to reports in the FT earlier this week.
Carney, whose role on Threadneedle Street is set to end on 31 January next year, could also be asked to extend his term in the event that Brexit is pushed back beyond the current deadline of 31 October, sources told the paper.
Interim chair of the treasury committee Catherine McKinnell has written to Javid asking him to set out a new timetable “immediately” if the current schedule is no longer valid.
“For this process to be effective, the Committee will need to send the new Governor the questionnaire in good time for him or her to provide considered replies, and for the Committee to review them,” she wrote.
Read more: BoE appointment set to be delayed
Speculation over the next Bank of England governor has been mounting in recent months, with FCA boss Andrew Bailey and deputy BoE governor Jon Cunliffe believed to be among the shortlisted candidates.
Gerard Lyons, the former economic adviser to Prime Minster Boris Johnson, has failed to make the final shortlist.
Lyons absence from the shortlist does not mean he cannot be appointed by the Prime Minister, but it would be against the standard procedure for the Treasury’s advice to be disregarded.
“The process is on track and we will make an appointment in due course”, a Treasury spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Carney’s tenure in the top job, which comes with a £480,000 salary, was advertised by the Treasury in April.