Commons Sense

House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement

Government debt issuance pilot using distributed ledger technology

18 November 2024 · Treasury

Proposed by Tulip Siddiq Lab Hampstead and Highgate

EconomyScience & Technology

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

View on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • The Chancellor announced a pilot Digital Gilt Instrument using distributed ledger technology to explore its potential benefits for government debt issuance.
  • The Government will work with industry to test DLT across the lifecycle of a government debt instrument, aiming to issue a digital bond similar to conventional gilts through the Digital Securities Sandbox.
  • This pilot is set to engage with the sector in early 2025 to finalize plans and technology options.

Issue summary

The Chancellor announced a pilot Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to explore its potential benefits for government debt issuance.

Action requested

The Government will work with industry to test DLT across the lifecycle of a government debt instrument, aiming to issue a digital bond similar to conventional gilts through the Digital Securities Sandbox. This pilot is set to engage with the sector in early 2025 to finalize plans and technology options.

Key facts

  • The pilot aims to utilise distributed ledger technology (DLT) for government debt issuance.
  • It will use the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), which opened applications in September 2024.
  • The DSS provides a regulatory environment supervised by the Bank of England and FCA.
▸ Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy