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Future of Financial Services
09 November 2020
Lead MP
Rishi Sunak
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
ClimateBrexitBusiness & Trade
Other Contributors: 49
At a Glance
Rishi Sunak raised concerns about future of financial services in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Chancellor announced plans to reinforce the UK’s position as a leading financial services hub post-Brexit. He emphasised the industry's significance, contributing £130 billion to the economy and employing over one million people, with two-thirds of jobs located outside London. Post-EU regulation will ensure stability and openness through unilateral equivalence decisions and fostering relationships beyond Europe. Technological advancements like FinTech and stable coins are prioritised for consumer benefits. Additionally, the Chancellor committed to climate action, including mandatory disclosures by 2025 and issuing green bonds next year.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
The shadow raised concerns about the lack of ambition in the Government's green recovery measures, questioning the delay in implementing mandatory climate-related disclosures and comparing UK investment in green projects to that of Germany and France.
Minister reply
The Chancellor responded by emphasising ongoing efforts towards technological advancement and regulatory transparency in financial services. He acknowledged Labour’s proposal for early implementation but maintained that a phased approach was necessary.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
We have become used to disjointed, last-minute policy making recently in this House. Today’s events—with a statement entitled “the Future of Financial Services” on the very day that the Financial Services Bill is being debated—surely takes this to new heights.
Minister reply
I was hoping that this would be a rather more technical discussion. It was telling that we had all those questions from the hon. Lady but not really, until the last sentence, any word of praise or recognition for this industry.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
The UK produces 1% of global emissions, but companies and financial institutions based here produce 15% of those emissions. Action from the Government to match the green ambitions of many in financial services cannot come too soon.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
Recent developments have unfortunately gone in the wrong direction. Over the last decade, the UK has pumped £6 billion into overseas fossil fuel projects via UK Export Finance, so will the Chancellor do as Labour has demanded and immediately ban the financing of fossil fuel projects through UK Export Finance?
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
Labour supports the move to greater disclosure of climate-related information. Two months ago, we called on the Government to show leadership and introduce mandatory reporting ahead of COP26.
Minister reply
The hon. Lady asked about the TCFD disclosures and comply or explain. Comply or explain is the approach that others have taken. We will be the first major economy—the first in the G20—to mandate disclosures by 2025. A road map has been published today. It is the most ambitious timetable that any major economy has done to date. In fact, it goes far beyond what was recommended by the taskforce.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
The Chancellor’s announcement and that of the Financial Conduct Authority this morning are positive, but they only relate to a “comply or explain” basis, with full implementation not set for many years—until 2025. The climate crisis demands bolder action.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
Will the Chancellor move to mandatory reporting in the 2021-22 reporting year?
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
Again, the introduction of green gilts is welcome, but they are mechanisms, not ends in themselves; they obviously depend on where the money raised is then invested. So far this year, the UK Government have announced around £5 billion in green investment.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
That compares with £36 billion in Germany and £27 billion in France. Where is this Government’s ambition for a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis, and where is the replacement for the green investment bank that the Conservatives sold off?
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
As the Chancellor rightly said, the financial sector is of course critical in ensuring that start-ups and scale-ups can access the capital that they need to grow and succeed, and that is so important right now. But that must go hand in hand with oversight and protection.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
The drive to encourage more tech companies to list on our stock exchange cannot come at the expense of corporate responsibility, so what will he do to ensure the long-term health of British companies and the protection of British investors?
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
And where is the action here to protect people’s access to local bank branches and to cash on their high streets? There is more in this statement about stablecoins—hardly the talk of living rooms up and down the land—than there is about people’s access to cash.
Minister reply
The hon. Lady commented on our response to the equivalence process from our EU partners. I think she was trying to accuse us of being slow in replying, or not quite replying sufficiently. That will be news to the team that has spent months producing 2,500 pages of responses to the Commission responses.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab Co-op
Oxford East
Question
While we debate these often welcome measures, we must not forget the elephant in the room: this Government’s mishandling—I am calling it that because that is what it is—of ensuring market access for our firms to our largest trading partner. One in every 14 UK workers is employed in financial and related professional services, yet the City of London Corporation has recently said that the approach to negotiations makes them feel like the “neglected child of an acrimonious divorce”. With weeks to go until we leave the transition period, we still do not know whether the EU will determine that our rules are equivalent to its own. The Chancellor’s predecessor said that achieving equivalence on day one should not be complicated.
Minister reply
We have chosen to take an approach that prioritises financial services. Rather than wait, we have acted unilaterally to provide certainty to our financial services firms and to enshrine our reputation as a place where global firms can come and do business, because this will always be the most open, the most competitive and the most innovative place to do financial services anywhere in the world.
Alison Thewliss
SNP
Glasgow Central
Question
The Chancellor's statement was heavily redacted and disrespectful to Opposition Members. Financial services are important for Scotland, including Glasgow’s Barclays complex. The uncertainty around Brexit is affecting financial services companies' preparations. The Chancellor must provide clarity on the relationship with Europe. Green gilts are welcomed but need discussions with Scottish Government. Equivalence risks political weaponisation; how will this be mitigated?
Minister reply
Agreed that Scotland has a strong heritage in financial services, and two-thirds of jobs are outside London. A temporary permissions regime was put in place for certainty. Input VAT can be reclaimed by UK exports to the EU, worth several hundred million pounds. Solvency II review will benefit long-term annuities. Equivalence will not be used as a political weapon but approached technically.
Kevin Brennan
Lab
Cardiff West
Question
Where is the bold action on green jobs and green finance? The Chancellor's announcements are too technical, lacking initiative like developing projects such as Swansea bay tidal lagoon.
Minister reply
Announced that we will be the first major economy to mandate Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures across the economy by 2025.
Robert Largan
Con
Macclesfield
Question
Financial services support over £130 billion and 1 million jobs, two-thirds outside London. Welcomes sovereign green bonds announcement. Will these bonds fund crucial climate change projects like moorland restoration and infrastructure investment?
Minister reply
Sovereign green bonds will ensure capital for net zero transition, catalysing market developments to finance necessary infrastructure.
Andrew Gwynne
Ind
Gorton
Question
The Chancellor sold off the Green Investment Bank in 2017. How does he propose to fill this gap now that we are leaving the European Investment Bank?
Minister reply
Urges waiting for the imminent publication of the national infrastructure strategy.
Rob Butler
Con
Aylesbury
Question
Welcomes announcement on sovereign green bonds. Does he agree these will help tackle climate change and create green jobs in firms, including micro-businesses?
Minister reply
Agrees that transition to net zero creates opportunities for companies large and small.
Christine Jardine
Lib Dem
Edinburgh West
Question
Jobs are leaving the UK for Europe, assets leaving at a rate of £1.2 trillion. Announcements on green gilts are welcome but too late. Does the Chancellor appreciate why constituents in Edinburgh West are concerned about Government’s ability to stay up-to-date with economic needs?
Minister reply
Financial services need a vision for future ensuring we remain competitive, announcements will ensure this reality.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
Thanks the Chancellor for statement and recognition of financial services importance. 24,000 jobs in Belfast play key roles. Financial services must be regulated efficiently by FCA; how can this be done?
Minister reply
Points to phase 2 consultation of future regulatory framework review taking into account stakeholder inputs.
Bob Neill
Con
Hornchurch and Upminster
Question
Welcomes Chancellor’s recognition of financial services’ critical role. Confirms we will seek closest agreement with EU, door is not closed; confirms regime for listings, investment funds and overseas persons, drawing on expertise through bodies like International Regulatory Strategy Group.
Minister reply
Agrees about importance of competitive listings regime to attract companies to London. Looking forward to input from the bodies mentioned.
Joanna Cherry
SNP
Edinburgh South West
Question
Would the UK Government not be in a better position to deploy these bonds if they had not flogged off the Green Investment Bank, which is headquartered in my Edinburgh South West constituency? Will the Chancellor consider passing these bond-issuing powers to the devolved Governments so that they can be put to best effect in facilitating low-carbon developments across the United Kingdom?
Minister reply
Sovereign gilt issues will remain a reserved competency, but one of our hopes is that creating a sovereign green bond market will catalyse a domestic green bond market, as we have seen elsewhere, which would provide a benchmark for private companies to issue private green credit. I hope that will provide more capital for more companies in every part of the UK.
Nigel Mills
Con
East Worthing and Shoreham
Question
I thank the Chancellor for his statement. Does he agree that our financial system should also be the cleanest in the world and free from dirty criminal and corrupt money? Would he look further at the failure to prevent economic crime across our financial sector?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend has focused on that issue for as long as I have been in this House—and rightly so. He will know that we passed the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 the year before last, and in the Budget we said we would consult on introducing an economic crime levy that would provide additional funds to combat the scourge of crime in our financial system. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary will be outlining further measures on market abuse in the debate on the Financial Services Bill.
Alison McGovern
Lab
Birkenhead
Question
We do not see very much of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this place. I wonder what it could possibly be about the Monday after the electoral routing of populism in the USA over the weekend that makes him want to come to the Dispatch Box and speak about climate change. Never mind the good management of his reputation, his Government cannot escape the consequences of Brexit and the lack of the deal that was promised for financial services. Given the shape of the UK’s economy, the consequences will be far worse for those workers that we keep talking about who are in financial services outside London and in other regions. Will he confirm what he believes will be the relative regional impact of the current state of the Brexit negotiations? What is his policy to stop Brexit making regional inequality even worse?
Minister reply
It would not be right for me to give a day-by-day commentary on the negotiations. As we heard from the Prime Minister at the weekend, we have made significant progress. Those talks are ongoing and it is clear that a deal can be done, but it will require both sides to act constructively. We remain ready to do that and are working hard at it.
Nickie Aiken
Con
Cities of London and Westminster
Question
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Yet another statement—he seems to be here more often than not. Although I recognise that two thirds of the 1 million-plus jobs that the financial services industry supports are outside London, it is the City of London, in my constituency of Cities of London and Westminster, that is the heart of financial services in this country and supports those jobs across the UK. What further measures will the Government take post transition to ensure that the UK maintains and enhances its global competitiveness in the financial services sector?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is rightly proud of this industry, given her constituency, and she is right that we should not rest on our laurels. We may be world beating today, but we want to remain the most competitive place to do business. The initiatives that we have launched today, for example the listing reform, which was mentioned, the investment funds regime reform, or Solvency II, will provide opportunities for us to tweak and flex our regulation going forward, and attract capital and business so that the industry can continue to grow and go from strength to strength.
Stella Creasy
Lab Co-op
Walthamstow
Question
Citizens Advice tells us that 6 million of our constituents have already fallen behind on a bill during the pandemic. One group exploiting the FinTech explosion that the Chancellor is talking about are the legal loan sharks of the credit sector. In the last financial crisis, the coalition Government waited too long to act and the Wongas of this world ripped off millions of our constituents, yet someone is now better protected if they take out a payday loan than credit card debt, because at least the interest rate is capped. As millions of our constituents face a terrible Christmas, will the Chancellor please learn the lessons of the last financial crisis when dealing with the financial sector? Will he please bring in a cap on the cost of all credit, so that we make sure that some of these new FinTechs—the buy now, pay laters of this world—are not the kinds of financial companies that we get coming to our shores to exploit our constituents yet again?
Minister reply
I know the hon. Lady has spent an enormous amount of time in this Chamber focused on these issues, and rightly so. The FCA is currently taking action to address the issues in the buy now, pay later sector, but more generally to her important question around debt and consumer credit, it is worth bearing in mind that we have provided around £38 million to debt providers this financial year, bringing the total to £100 million. Colleagues will know that from May next year, the breathing space initiative that was recently passed in this place will provide a period for individuals who are struggling with debt issues to take a pause and agree a repayment plan. Indeed, in the Bill we are considering later, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) will be introducing provisions for statutory debt repayment plans, which will further help those who are struggling paying back credit.
Rehman Chishti
Con
Gillingham and Rainham
Question
I thank the Chancellor for the statement and all the financial support he has given to my constituents in Gillingham and Rainham during covid-19. My question is specifically in regard to the work of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the six-month statute of limitation when dealing with complaints, as raised with me by a constituent in Gillingham and as faced by constituents around the country. With all other ombudsmen, such as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, there is a 12-month statute of limitation. Can the Chancellor explain that discrepancy? Will he be kind enough to take the matter away on behalf of my constituent in Gillingham and look at this anomaly in the interests of fairness?
Minister reply
I am very happy to take the issue away, and I look forward to discussing it further with my hon. Friend on behalf of his constituents.
Richard Thomson
SNP
Kilmarnock and Loudoun
Question
I have to say to the Chancellor that his announcement this afternoon will do little to stem the haemorrhaging of jobs and assets that we have seen since the failure so far of his Government’s negotiations on Brexit. Earlier in the year, Germany announced a £46 billion investment in the green economy to stimulate recovery. How will the Chancellor’s sovereign green bond attempt to match that? What discussions has he had or does he intend to have with the devolved Administrations around these islands to discuss how the proceeds of any such bond issue might usefully be put to work?
Minister reply
I point the hon. Gentleman to our Budget in March, where we set out a sense of the capital plans for the next few years. What he will see there are plans to spend more than £600 billion in capital investment in this country over the next five years, raising capital investment to the highest sustained level it has seen in almost half a century.
Craig Whittaker
Con
Calderdale and Halton
Question
I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. Many of the three quarters of a million jobs outside London in the financial services sector are located in places such as West Yorkshire, and in particular in Calderdale. Does he agree that keeping the UK at the forefront of financial services regulations and supporting an open and dynamic economy is the surest way to ensure we remain a competitive economy as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As we seek to drive our economic recovery from coronavirus, financial services can play a key part in that. Critical in ensuring that is making sure we remain an open and, as he said, dynamic place that adapts to what is changing, and that is indeed what all our measures today will ensure happens.
Chris Bryant
Lab
Rhondda and Ogmore
Question
The great success of the financial services industry in this country sometimes means that it is also vulnerable to threats from other people around the world who want to launder money through the British system. It is good that we now have a beneficial ownership register, but the threshold for that is 25%, which is quite high—higher than some other countries. Lots of companies are granted exemptions by Government Ministers from having to show their real beneficial ownership, and Companies House has next to no resources with which to investigate whether what it is being told by individual companies is actually true. Is it now time for us to launch a further effort to tackle money laundering? Would it be good if the Government were able to say, as soon as possible, that the overseas territories, which are part of this country’s financial services institutions, were also making their beneficial ownership registers publicly available?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman is right that this important issue deserves our focus, and I am pleased that in its independent review the year before last, the Financial Action Task Force judged the UK to be one of the best regimes in the world for tackling money laundering. The hon. Gentleman will know that there is an outstanding consultation on a review of the Companies House regime, and I look forward to hearing his thoughts on what we should do to take that forward.
Joy Morrissey
Con
Beaconsfield
Question
I thank my right hon. Friend for updating the House with his statement, and for the plethora of statements that he has offered to the House. I also remind Opposition Members that this is not a UK crisis; this is a world crisis, it is a pandemic. I thank my right hon. Friend for everything that he has done to help those in the financial sector and the green economy. Many people in Beaconsfield work in both those sectors. Will he outline to the House how green finance can be used to build back the UK economy post-coronavirus, as well as meeting our climate change commitments and delivering a greener economy?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend her for her warm comments. She is right to say that we need that finance to develop new technologies, which have helped to meet our climate ambitions. To give a couple of examples, we can be a world leader in carbon capture and storage, and similarly for offshore wind—those are the kinds of investments that will need extra financing to help develop those technologies, or further their export capabilities, and that is exactly the type of investment that this new capital will help to fund.
Patricia Gibson
SNP
North Ayrshire and Arran
Question
I confess I was surprised to hear the Chancellor say that he was grateful to the people who are keeping local bank branches open. I now have seven towns in my constituency with no bank, and only three that do have access to a local bank—it is surely the hardest hit in the UK. If he really wants to help people to keep bank branches open, when will he do more to ensure and help facilitate banking hubs in my constituency of North Ayrshire and Arran, and across Scotland?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady will have heard my previous answer about our plans to take forward initiatives on access to cash, and protecting it. The outstanding consultation will conclude shortly, and then we will decide on a future legislative strategy.
Alec Shelbrooke
Con
Wetherby and Easingwold
Question
My right hon. Friend has put in unprecedented help to people during this crisis, but tragically in my constituency almost 2,000 people have lost their jobs. Does he agree that, as he said in his statement, Leeds is a key financial hub in this country, and many of my constituents, if not employed directly in the financial services industry, are part of the support network around it? Does he also agree that the green bonds that come out will trickle down to small manufacturers, of which I have a plethora in my constituency? Will he push ahead with great speed on that, and how quickly does he think that he can get this recovery? What I have heard from him today, quite frankly, has been, “jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right about the importance of Leeds to our financial services ecosystem in the UK, and about the importance of that industry to jobs in his local economy. We are keen to see the industry prosper across the country, in his constituency and elsewhere, and one thing that might be of interest to his constituents is the review that we are launching into the UK funds regime.
Warrington North
Question
The pandemic has accelerated the decline in the use of cash across the country, but there are still 8 million people who say that it is an economic necessity, and many others who are employed in the cash industry, including in Warrington North. According to the National Audit Office, the Bank of England does not know the whereabouts of around two-thirds of known currency—about £50 billion—which may be in the shadow economy. Does that show the need for a comprehensive plan for cash?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary is absolutely abreast of the issue and has been for a while, which is why we have a strategy around protecting access to cash. We announced an intention to consult and potentially legislate at Budget.
Andrew Griffith
Con
Arundel and South Downs
Question
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on becoming the climate change Chancellor. Does he agree that private sector businesses and investors are fundamental to achieving our target of net zero? Only they have the capacity to innovate, to make changes in the supply chain and to generate the prosperity that will make the choices we make as consumers and citizens much easier to accomplish.
Minister reply
As my hon. Friend knows well from his own private sector experience, we absolutely need to attract private capital alongside public capital to deliver on all our ambitions. That is why a sovereign bond is so important—it can help to catalyse a domestic private sector industry for corporates and other institutions that issue on the back of a Government issuance.
Cel-y-Bont
Question
Talking of private capital, Barclays has moved €200 billion out of the UK—€3,000 per person; J.P. Morgan has moved €200 billion out of the UK; HSBC has moved 1,000 jobs to Paris; the Government have abolished the Green Investment Bank; and we are leaving the European Investment Bank. If the Chancellor is serious about investment in green infrastructure, will he look at the Development Bank of Wales as a mechanism for focusing on green infrastructure in a knowledgeable way, as happened with the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, so that taxpayers’ money can be deployed effectively to grow and green our economy?
Minister reply
Last year, we had the infrastructure financing review, which contemplated these specific questions. We will issue a response alongside the national infrastructure strategy, which I think will adequately address the hon. Gentleman’s questions.
James Davies
Con
Westminster North
Question
I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, particularly in terms of the issuing of green gilts. Will he confirm that the benefits of the sovereign green bond will be available alongside revenue support mechanisms to support hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage, as exemplified by the HyNet project for north-west England and north-east Wales?
Minister reply
Without commenting on specific projects, I think my hon. Friend is right to highlight some of the areas of interest to the Government. On carbon capture and storage, he will that know we have already outlined over £800 million of investment over the next few years to help develop two carbon capture and storage clusters with the private sector.
Diana R. Johnson
Lab
Kingston upon Hull North
Question
As the shadow Chancellor pointed out in her excellent remarks, the United Kingdom, under successive Tory Governments over the past decade, has pumped £6 billion into climate-damaging fossil fuel projects overseas via UK Export Finance. Will the Chancellor now commit to ban this activity immediately and make it a priority to invest in British green energy industries in places such as the Humber estuary and to create the future jobs we need for a real green northern powerhouse?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady will know the importance of offshore wind in her area, and she will have welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcements for that sector, including the increase in the amount of domestically manufactured content as we look to build on our advantage as a user of offshore wind to make sure that we also build an advantage in manufacturing the turbines.
Bim Afolami
Con
Welwyn Hatfield
Question
I welcome the Chancellor’s statement, which foreshadows a huge increase in powers for the Financial Conduct Authority and a huge increase in the amount of legislation and regulations that will come through this House. What thought has the Chancellor given to establishing a specialist financial services Select Committee of this House, perhaps with some oversight capacity, so that we can manage this huge influx of legislation and regulations once we get out of the transition period on 1 January?
Minister reply
It is not for me to suggest that the Treasury Committee needs something else to do, but my hon. Friend is right that there will be a change in the regulatory alignment after leaving the transition period, which is why our future regulatory framework review is so important.
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Question
In answer to the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) earlier, why did the Chancellor rule out allowing the devolved Governments to issue their own green bonds? Surely that would be one way to help the Welsh Government directly fund the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project, considering that the Treasury views the contract for difference model to be too costly.
Minister reply
Obviously the Welsh Government will make their own decisions on supporting their own local economy. The issuance of sovereign bonds is obviously a reserved capability and it is appropriate that it remains that way.
Neil O'Brien
Con
Harborough
Question
Short-termism in financing public companies has long been a concern in the UK, so I welcome the measures my right hon. Friend is taking today, which build on the work of the patient capital taskforce. I welcome the review of Solvency II, which is potentially deterring long-term investment, and I welcome the long-term asset fund, too. Will my right hon. Friend set out what he hopes it will achieve and what metrics he will use to assess whether it is working or not?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. To give him a sense of what we are trying to achieve, we know that today defined-contribution pension schemes in particular are not particularly well invested in long-term illiquid instruments—roughly 1% of their portfolios compared with about 10% for defined benefit schemes.
Peter Kyle
Lab
Hove
Question
I join the shadow Chancellor in celebrating the success and importance of the financial services sector in our country. The Chancellor said he was making a unilateral announcement about equivalence, so can he confirm that the British financial services sector now has to wait for the EU to make its unilateral announcement on equivalence and other measures that will dictate what is possible in terms of access for British businesses? The Government signed the political declaration that committed them to finding the agreement by June last year. If British business was as good as this Government at doing deals, there would be no financial sector in this country.
Minister reply
Maybe I can help clear this up for the hon. Gentleman. There are a set of decisions that we can make unilaterally. There are others that we cannot, because the nature of the decision requires mutual collaboration between us and the other partner.
Heather Wheeler
Con
South Staffordshire
Question
I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. I strongly welcome the new sovereign green bond, an idea I have been promoting for many months, especially in the far east. Can he explain how he will ensure that the projects invested in are suitable projects?
Minister reply
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s campaigning on this important issue. She asks the right question to make sure the money is going where we want it to go. I can give her the reassurance that we will be using the use of proceeds structure, along with the principles from the International Capital Market Association. That is the most widely used and recognised structure in the ESG—environmental, social and governance—investing space, and it is the structure that is used by pretty much all other sovereign issuers. It will ensure that the money raised goes where it is required and deserves to go.
Mike Amesbury
Lab
Chesterfield
Question
Credit unions have been a lifeline for many people in local communities during the pandemic. What steps is the Chancellor taking to support credit unions and the mutual sector in terms of growth?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the importance of credit unions in providing credit to those who need it. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary recently hosted a roundtable to make sure the industry is getting the support it requires.
Ben Lake
PC
Ceredigion Preseli
Question
The announcement of a sovereign green bond is to be welcomed as an important step forward in the financing of infrastructure and industry, and is essential to achieving net zero, but what sort of access will the Welsh Government have to this important source of green finance to ensure that projects and priorities that fall within its remit are adequately supported, given that the Chancellor seems to have ruled out empowering the Welsh Government to issue their own green bond?
Minister reply
The UK Government issue UK debt. Where spending has a Barnett implication, the money is provided to the Welsh Government. The sovereign bond is just a way of financing the expenditure of the United Kingdom. The Barnett consequentials will always be provided if and when the appropriate expenditure is made, for the Welsh Government to use as they see fit.
Gareth Davies
Con
Grantham and Bourne
Question
I warmly welcome the statement today, particularly on the issuance of green gilts, which is a great idea. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that the issuance of a green gilt marks a great opportunity to showcase Britain’s place in the world in terms of our financial services power to move towards net zero by 2050?
Minister reply
I pay enormous tribute to my hon. Friend, who has campaigned tirelessly, written tirelessly and advocated tirelessly for many years for the UK to issue a sovereign green bond, and I know he will be heartened by the announcement today. He is absolutely right, and he knows better than most what a signal this will send across the world of our desire to be a global leader in green finance and to deliver on all our ambitions. I know he will pay a key part in making sure that we do.
Patrick Grady
SNP
Glasgow North
Question
The Chancellor seems to be either deaf to or in denial about some of what Opposition Members are saying to him today. EY has calculated that over £1 trillion of assets are being moved out of the UK to the EU as a result of Brexit. Does he accept that? Is he proud of it? Does he think it is a price worth paying for Brexit? Does he seriously think that what he is announcing today will mitigate that somehow?
Minister reply
What we are announcing today will ensure that the UK remains the most open, competitive, technology-leaning and dynamic place to do financial services anywhere in the world. It is a constantly changing industry and it is right that we are on the cutting edge of developments. Now that we are outside the EU and leaving the transition period, we have the ability to make further changes to our regulatory regime, to enhance our competitiveness and to attract jobs, capital and business to the UK.
Richard Fuller
Con
North Bedfordshire
Question
Regarding the comment made by the hon. Member for Wirral South (Alison McGovern), I do not know where Labour MPs have been these past few weeks, but the Chancellor has been here today, 9 November, and on 5 November, on 22 October, on 20 October, on 14 October, on 24 September and on 15 September. No Chancellor has been more responsive to the needs of Members of Parliament than this Chancellor, which is why I welcome his statement today. It demonstrates that neither the financial services sector nor he as UK Chancellor are going to sit around and wait for the EU to respond, but that he will point the way forward in leadership in green finance, in financial technology and in financial transparency. Will my right hon. Friend build on the green sovereign bond announced today, so that ahead of COP26 retail investments will be available for retail investors?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He will know from his extensive experience in financial services how important the announcements today are. He makes a very interesting suggestion, and I would love to meet him to discuss it further and see what we can do.
Shadow Comment
Anneliese Dodds
Shadow Comment
The shadow expressed concerns over the Government's handling of financial services post-Brexit, citing delays in securing equivalence status and job losses. She criticised the lack of ambition compared to other European countries regarding green investment and questioned the oversight on technology companies listing on stock exchanges. The Labour Party called for immediate action on climate-related information disclosure and urged for a replacement of the green investment bank.
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