George Osborne grilled by MPs on Autumn Statement: live 16.16 The Treasury Select Committee hearing is over (but you can watch it here), and Mr Osborne seemed to get away fairly lightly. He got a little hot under the collar when grilled over missing his debt reduction target but stood his ground, saying it was a choice to spare the pain of a £17bn cut all at once. He also insisted his measures impacted every section of society, referring to "chart after chart after chart" from the Institute for Fiscal Studies showing the richest were hit harder. But he then dismissed another IFS figure from Labour MP Andrew Love stating a single-earner, one-child family would lose out by £534 a year, saying it was "very selective" for not including the total increase in the personal allowance which will come in next April nor the impact of the universal credit. He also expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the EU finance minister's meeting last night. But he would not be drawn on his personal thoughts on monetary policy nor his private conversations with incoming governor Mark Carney, saying it was a matter for Dr Carney to address with the committee when he takes over from Mervyn King this year. 15.55 Osborne also said that there was no "big bang" solution to the banking crisis, as he admitted that cleaning up the banks had been the "trickiest area" for the Government to handle. He stressed that banking reform "has to be done in parts," adding: We have to try to return the banking system to health and get it working again. Osborne was asked if he thought it was a good idea to break up the banks. He replied that though it may sound like a good idea, in practice, the process was very complicated. On RBS specifically, he says: If we had thought that breaking up RBS was a practical solution then we would have done it. 15.54 Earlier in the hearing, Mr Osborne said to the committee he would think twice about restructuring the Royal Bank of Scotland into a 'good bank' and 'bad bank'. RBS has shrunk dramatically, it has weak assets. There are lots of problems with it. It sounds like a good idea, in the sense of 'let's just break up the banks'. When it comes to the practicalities of delivering it, I think it makes you think twice. 15.50 Conservative MP David Ruffley has asked whether a council tax revaluation is overdue given how much extra revenue it could raise. The Chancellor made it clear he has no desire to undertake such a major upheaval. I would say a number of chancellors and governorss before me have attempted general revaluations and have usually come to regret it. 15.33 The MPs are questioning Mr Osborne's assertion that the average family will be £125 better off under his mini-budget. They are citing calculations published by the Institute for Fiscal studies saying a single earner household with two children will lose £534 by 2015, but Mr Osborne says he does not think this figure includes his higher income tax threshold or universal credit. 15.21 Asked whether the UK being downgraded from its AAA credit rating, Mr Osborne toned down earlier rhetoric that the rating was the key symbol of the economy's strength. It wouldn't be a good thing but the majority of the ratings agencies have us on negative outlook. We have the triple A rating, it's one test alongisde others, the ultimate test is what you can borrow money at. 15.12 Labour MP George Mudie is grilling Mr Osborne on missing his debt targets and moreover, increasing government debt by some £217bn since he took up his post in 2010. The chancellor said he made a decision not to chase the debt target as it would not have helped the economy. Faced with the choice of taking £17bn cuts in a single year in order to hit the target compared to the impact that would have on the economy and the unnecessary pursuit of a static target, I chose not to hit the target aware that people would focus on that. 14.47 Mr Osborne has been asked whether he is eyeing up a move away from inflation rate targeting, referring to Mark Carney's preference for GDP targeting. He declined to give anything away from his private discussions with Mr Carney, Mr Osborne said: There is a debate going on [about monetary policy] and I'm glad the future central bank governor of the UK is part of that debate. I welcome the fact that we have in Mark Carney someone who is leading the debate and opinion. But of course any decisions about framework are the decision of the government. I've had many discussions with Dr Carney this year but it is right those conversations are private and right he first explains to your committee his view on the UK economy and monetary policy. Mark Carney, incoming governor of the Bank of England 14.20 If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Mr Osborne has said he would only change the monetary policy regime away from inflation rate targeting if there were big rewards to be had from shifting it. Whatever regime you have, you have to ask the prior questions of what is it you want the Monetary Poilcy Committee to be doing that they can't currently do because of their regime. If you can't answer that question I wouldn't change the regime. 14.16 Andrew Tyrie is pressing Mr Osborne on how transformative last night's agreement will be, given common supervision is still a far cry from a fully fledged banking union. The chancellor said he was confident this was just the first step and would lead to deposit protection for eurozone banks and a common resolution. British politicians can point out where things have gone wrong but we should also acknowledge when they get something right, and I think they did last night. 14.06 Mr Osborne has just spoken on the impact of the eurozone crisis on the British economy, saying the crisis is the principal cause and more than accounts for the downgrade of the Office for Budget Responsibility's growth forecast. He added that if trade to the eurozone had grown as fast as trade in non-eurozone countries, it would have added 1pc to the British GDP. 13.44 Chancellor George Osborne is gearing up for a grilling from the Treasury Select Committee, where he is due to appear at 2pm to answer questions on his mini-budget in the Autumn Statement. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee