Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Chancellor’s Mansion House Speech: Funding Plans

Thursday 12 December 2024 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Luke Charters inquired about the steps the Department is taking to support the funding plans outlined in the Chancellor's Mansion House speech.
  • Callum Anderson questioned the measures being taken to attract more foreign private investment for high-growth companies in Buckingham and Bletchley.
  • Luke Charters also asked how the industrial strategy will ensure that financial services deliver growth, highlighting the sector's importance to the UK economy.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Charters Lab York Outer
Economy
Context

The MP inquired about the steps being taken to support the delivery of funding announced by the Chancellor.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support the delivery of the funding plans outlined in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Mansion House speech?

Answer from Sarah Jones

Growth is the Government's No. 1 mission and, in her Mansion House speech, the Chancellor announced a package of reforms to drive growth and investment across the UK. I have lost count of the number of times I have had conversations with businesses where they talked about how our appetite for risk is not in the right place, and we are looking to reform that. Here in DBT, we are driving change through our new industrial strategy working across Departments, which we will publish in the spring.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps and mechanisms for implementing the funding initiatives were not detailed.

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Q2 Callum Anderson Lab Buckingham and Bletchley
Business & Trade
Context

The MP highlighted the reliance of high-growth companies in his area on foreign direct investment for growth and innovation, asking about specific steps to attract more such investments.

Question

High-growth companies across Buckingham and Bletchley rely on foreign direct investment for their growth and innovation. Will the Minister set out the steps her Department and the Minister for Investment are taking to ensure that the Office for Investment can attract more foreign private investment to help the high-potential industries in which Britain excels?

Answer from Sarah Jones

We have an expanded Office for Investment, which brings together the Department for Business and Trade, No. 10 and the Treasury. Our Investment Minister is working at pace travelling around the world to bring in investment. I met her and the Office for Investment this week, and we are in constant dialogue about how we can bring more foreign direct investment into the country, building on the £63 billion announced at the investment summit, and how we can kick-start the economy after 14 years of failure.

Partly answered

Not addressed: While mentioning ongoing efforts, specific steps to attract more foreign private investment were not detailed.

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Q3 Luke Charters Lab York Outer
Economy Business & Trade
Context

The MP pointed out the Chancellor's emphasis on growth, specifically in relation to financial services and how it can benefit the region of York, Leeds and beyond.

Question

The Chancellor of the Exchequer mentioned growth over 40 times in her superb Mansion House speech. York, Leeds and beyond will benefit from that. How will my hon. Friend ensure that the industrial strategy delivers for financial services so that we can achieve the growth this country desperately needs?

Answer from Sarah Jones

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the UK's world-leading financial services sector. Through the Treasury, we are developing a 10-year financial services strategy and, of course, financial services is one of the pillars of our industry strategy, which we will publish in the spring. We cannot take the UK's status as a global financial centre for granted. In a highly competitive world, we need to earn that status and work to keep it, and that is what we intend to do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps within the strategy to deliver growth in the financial services sector were not detailed.

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