THE Bank of England’s chief economist visited Newport to hear how people are coping with the rising cost of living.
Cardiff-born Huw Pill met with around 50 parents of pupils at Maindee Primary School and other members of the community yesterday, June 12.
They told him about their experiences of the cost-of-living squeeze caused by higher energy and food prices and asked him about the measures the Bank of England is taking to bring inflation down.
The Bank has increased interest rates steadily over the past 18 months to their current level of 4.5 per cent to tackle high inflation.
But the rate of inflation remains at 8.7 per cent, well above the Bank’s two per cent target.
Mr Pill said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to bring inflation back down to its two per cent target because we recognise the huge effect it has on families and communities.
“Talking to people in Newport about their experiences reinforced this to me. I fully recognise the difficulties many people face owing to the rising cost of living but also the pressures created by measures we are taking to bring inflation down, such as making mortgages more expensive.
“Striking a balance between ensuring inflation returns to target, and containing the costs that measures needed to ensure that return impose on already vulnerable households and businesses, is difficult. But we are determined to get it right.”
During the trip, Mr Pill met with representatives from homeless charity The Wallich, the Raven House Trust, Save the Children and Voices for Bettws at Millbrook Primary School to hear how their organisations and the people they support are being impacted.
Mr Pill also met students at St Joseph’s secondary school to talk about the future of money, including the Bank of England’s early thinking about a ‘digital pound’.
The digital pound would be a new type of money issued by the Bank of England for everyone to use for dayto-day spending. People would be able to use it in-store or online to make payments.
The visit was organised as part of Young Enterprise’s My Money Week, which runs until Friday, and will include Bank of England staff delivering several sessions at schools in the city. These include interactive sessions for primary school children exploring banknotes and digital payments, the gold held in the Bank of England’s vaults, and gold mining in Wales.
Representatives from the Office of National Statistics in Newport, which is responsible for measuring inflation using the Consumer Prices Index, are also attending some of the sessions.
Kerri Smith, headteacher of Millbrook Primary School, said: “At a time when our community is finding it more and more difficult to stretch their budgets, many of our families have identified the need to include financial literacy in our curriculum offer.
“With events organised for both our year 5 pupils and our community partners, we are pleased to be able to facilitate really good quality, expert learning for our children and the wider school community.”
The programme of activities has been organised by the Bank of England in partnership with Newport City Council.
Councillor Jane Mudd, Leader of Newport City Council, said: “This is an excellent scheme helping young people of all ages to learn an important life skill. I would like to thank the Bank of England and education colleagues for bringing the scheme to the city.”
People need to manage their money, writes Huw Pill
In today’s challenging environment, people need help to improve their ability to manage money, writes Bank of England chief economist for the South Wales Argus.
That has never been more obvious than now, as the rising cost of living puts a real strain on family budgets.
And at a time when our relationship with money – in all its forms – is changing so quickly.
Fewer than two-thirds of UK adults are assessed as being financially literate, according to a 2016 study. Schools can play an important part in giving young people these essential life skills.
But it can be hard to find time in the busy school day for financial education when teachers have so many competing priorities.
Surveys suggest less than 40% of young people recall learning about money at school, but that more than 80% want to learn more.
At the Bank of England we play our part through our classroom resources and engagement with schools, which saw me visit Newport this week.
However, we recognise that even more needs to be done. That was a message I took home from the parents and students I met in Newport.
Our discussions included a session on the future of money, and the transition from cash to digital payments.
I was really impressed by the level of engagement from those who took part. Whatever forms money takes in future, young people need the tools to help them make informed decisions on how to manage it. Huw Pill is chief economist of the Bank of England
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