The minister emphasised that privacy is paramount. No interest would be paid on a digital pound, and personal data would only be accessible by law enforcement under strict legal conditions.

The minister noted that ensuring a digital pound does not exacerbate existing inequalities is crucial. The consultation will explore ways to safeguard against this, including by maintaining access to traditional banking services.

Public trust is essential. The minister highlighted that the consultation aims to build this by providing clear information on privacy, security, and the regulatory framework.

Assured that privacy will be embedded in design and addressed in consultation; no risk to ongoing work on financial inclusion or replacement of physical money. Emphasised the importance of preventing tech companies from dominating this space.

Acknowledged the importance of savers getting fair interest rates; mentioned potential opportunities for citizens to have different choices, potentially involving intermediaries other than current banks.

Clarified that a digital pound is different from cryptoassets; £10 in digital pounds will always exchange 1:1 with traditional pounds. Emphasised ongoing consultations to address these questions.

Acknowledged concerns and assured that any digital pound will not replace physical cash; liberty remains paramount.

Suggested that regulators have a balanced approach; published proposals for regulating cryptoassets. Emphasised importance of effective and timely regulation.

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. To govern is to choose and we ask our regulators to make choices to prioritise. It is one reason why we are looking at reform of long-standing areas, such as the 40-year-old Consumer Credit Act 1974, to see if we can modernise it and make it more fit for purpose, deliver better customer outcomes, and potentially free up the regulatory environment so they can make choices to focus on the new and emerging threats and opportunities that this domain represents.

No.

I accept that the Command Paper has just been published, but when my hon. Friend has the opportunity, he will be able to look at the detail of the operation of such a scheme, which will reveal that there will be platform intermediaries. People will not have a bank account directly with the Bank of England, except in very narrow circumstances. I understand the concerns, and it is right that we debate the balance between freedoms and our duty to protect citizens from fraud and other things that this House, from time to time, will decide justify the piercing of that veil of privacy. I want to reassure my hon. Friend on cash. By design, this proposal will not replace cash. From a monetary policy perspective—although that is something, as with all these questions, that Members may respond to during the consultation—it is envisaged that it certainly will not increase money supply, and the one-for-one nature I talked about earlier is important in that regard. To be clear to my hon. Friend, the arbiter of that decision will be individual citizens making the choice as to how they wish to use their money—how they wish to spend it and how they wish to store it.

I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for her work as chair of the crypto and digital assets APPG. I hope it has been a productive number of weeks with the consultation paper on the regulation of cryptoassets and today’s joint consultation paper with the Treasury. The APPG does good work in educating and providing opportunities for Members of this House to engage with this rapidly growing area, which is important to financial inclusion and ensuring that we design in financial inclusion at the start. The hon. Lady makes a very important point about international interoperability. About 90% of all member countries of the Bank for International Settlements surveyed are looking at doing something similar, so it is right that we engage. We have a strong position of leadership in the financial community, as well as an adherence to the highest quality regulatory standards. That is absolutely in keeping with what we are trying to achieve today.

I thank my hon. Friend for her endorsement of today’s proposals. She should know that I am as concerned as she is about the fair deal for savers in general. As interest rates have increased, it is absolutely appropriate that savers benefit. It is a virtuous activity, and one that we on the Conservative Benches are very keen to support. The issue of central banks paying other banks interest on deposits is complex. There is a matrix of regulatory advantages and disadvantages from the status of being a bank, and I would be very happy to engage with her more to understand that.

It is indeed my aspiration to visit the hon. Gentleman’s expansive and rural constituency one day. Let me reassure him and the House that this long-term project will in no way take my or my officials’ time and attention away from any of the endeavours that have been put in place to promote access to cash. There are new powers in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, there are obligations on the regulators, and we are working with the banking industry and with Link. As a Member who represents a rural constituency, albeit somewhat south of the hon. Gentleman’s, I fully understand the importance of access to cash for communities, for people who may be disadvantaged and use cash to budget, and for our increasingly elderly population. That focus remains, and it is not diminished by this longer-term project. As hon. Members, particularly Opposition Members, have highlighted, we have the opportunity to design in financial inclusion and to ensure that no matter who someone banks with, they can benefit from the UK digital pound.

My hon. Friend makes two important points. The first is about the long-term nature of this Government, whose focus on delivery extends to the Prime Minister’s organisation of Departments to ensure that they deliver the outcomes that the British people expect. My hon. Friend also highlights the importance of financial education. I can commit that, as part of the national dialogue on this important issue, we will give thought to how we ensure that we educate our citizens to prevent them from falling prey to the terrible financial scams that people are trying to perpetrate in the financial system today.

I thank the hon. Member for his contributions to the ongoing debate. I have said that there is an opportunity for us to design in financial inclusion; that is one of the advantages of consulting early and of building a consensus across the House on a subject as important as our nation’s currency. He is quite right that it needs to be accessible and reliable as a store of value; the opportunity for it to sit side by side with cash and with the existing bank and digital payments system should give us the ability to drive financial inclusion outcomes.

The Minister responded that a digital pound could reduce friction and intermediary costs associated with foreign currency exchanges, potentially benefiting SMEs involved in exporting.

The Minister clarified that while the statement is focused on a digital pound, there are legislative plans within the Financial Services and Markets Bill to ensure statutory rights for cash access and deposit. This aims to prevent communities from being forced into a cashless society.

The Minister assured that the digital pound would not provide government access to user data except under limited circumstances. He emphasised that a digital pound could offer independence from commercial entities' policies and be beneficial in scenarios of coercive control.