The Treasury Committee will examine the Government's recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy, which sets out plans to improve access to financial products and services across of the UK. The inquiry will examine whether the Financial Inclusion Strategy identifies and addresses the key barriers to inclusion, and whether its objectives, resources, and delivery plans are likely … Show more
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Report – Financial Inclusion Strategy | HC 13 | 14 Jul 2026 | 12 | Pending |
The publication of the Financial Inclusion Strategy is welcome. It identifies many of the areas in which people experience financial exclusion. Informed witnesses broadly supported those areas of focus. Unlike HM Treasury’s 2004 publication, however, the Strategy does not yet bring together the evidence needed to show who is excluded, … Read more
HM Treasury should, within six months, publish a fuller quantitative analysis of the scale, causes and distribution of financial exclusion in the UK. Drawing on existing sources, including the FCA’s Financial Lives Survey, this should identify who is excluded, where exclusion is concentrated geographically, which products and services people are … Read more
We welcome the government’s commitment to review progress against the Strategy at the two-year mark. However, a two-year review without published baselines and milestones will not inform Parliament to judge whether the Strategy is on track. Reporting that working groups have met, pilots have started and stakeholders have been consulted … Read more
The Economic Secretary told us that she was responsible for delivery of the Strategy and would be happy to discuss its progress with the Treasury Committee. Although we would welcome such updates, they cannot substitute for a published implementation and accountability framework. (Conclusion, Paragraph 25) Read more
HM Treasury must publish within six months an implementation and accountability framework for the Financial Inclusion Strategy. Before publication, HM Treasury must agree with the Treasury Committee the core information to be included. The framework should include baselines, measurable targets, interim milestones, named delivery owners, funding and resource assumptions for … Read more
HM Treasury and the FCA should also develop proportionate firm-level financial inclusion metrics. These should focus on the largest providers and on markets where exclusion causes the greatest consumer harm, such as contents insurance, affordable credit and access to basic banking services. They should be designed to identify whether progress … Read more
Voluntary action and pilots can help test solutions, but they cannot be the main driver of a national financial inclusion strategy unless there are clear routes to scale and clear consequences if voluntary action fails. This is especially important where firms are reluctant to serve consumers who may be higher … Read more
The government may be right to begin with partnerships pilots and working groups, but it should be clear from the outset what would count as insufficient progress and what further action it would then take. It should not wait until the two-year review to decide what happens next if pilots … Read more
Where delivery depends on voluntary industry action, HM Treasury should set out clear triggers for further intervention. It should also explain what evidence or level of consumer harm would be needed before existing reserve powers, including those on access to banking services, would be used. Given 17 that the Financial … Read more
HM Treasury should publish a pilot-to-scale plan for the Financial Inclusion Strategy in the next six months. For each pilot, working group or exploratory programme, this should set out success criteria, evaluation methods, funding routes, decision points and the action government will take if the intervention works, if it does … Read more
The government rightly included consumer and lived-experience voices in the development of the Strategy. However, the process did not sufficiently guard against industry voices carrying greater influence, particularly in sub-committees and implementation discussions. Evidence that the main Committee met only briefly before publication, and that detailed work took place outside … Read more
HM Treasury should strengthen the governance of the Financial Inclusion Committee, its sub-committees and any implementation groups. For sub- committees and implementation groups, HM Treasury should publish membership, terms of reference and meeting frequency. It should ensure that consumer, civil society and representatives with lived experience of financial exclusion have … Read more
| Date | Witnesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 2026 | Alanna Barber · HM Treasury, Dan Rusbridge · HM Treasury, Rachel Blake MP · HM Treasury, Sarah Pritchard · Financial Conduct Authority | View ↗ |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Dr Emma Stone · Good Things Foundation, Helen Undy · Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Kate Pender · Fair4All Finance, Michelle Highman · The Money Charity | View ↗ |
| 4 Mar 2026 | Alison Rayner · Allianz UK, Hannah Gurga · Association of British Insurers, Jasjyot Singh OBE · Lloyds Banking Group, Nici Audhlam-Gardiner · Foresters Financial, Stephen Noakes · Nationwide | View ↗ |
| 3 Feb 2026 | Dr Eleni Karagiannaki · London School of Economics and Political Science, Mick McAteer · Financial Inclusion and Markets Centre, Professor Abdelhafid Benamraoui · University of Westminster, Sian Williams · Financial Inclusion Commission | View ↗ |
| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Alanna Barber · Deputy Director of Banking and Credit | HM Treasury | 1 |
| Alison Rayner · Chief Compliance & Corporate Affairs Officer | Allianz UK | 1 |
| Dan Rusbridge · Deputy Director for the Personal Finances and Fun… | HM Treasury | 1 |
| Dr Eleni Karagiannaki · Research Fellow, Centre for Analysis and Social E… | London School of Economics and Political Science | 1 |
| Dr Emma Stone · Director | Good Things Foundation | 1 |
| Hannah Gurga · Director General | Association of British Insurers | 1 |
| Helen Undy · CEO | Money and Mental Health Policy Institute | 1 |
| Jasjyot Singh OBE · CEO, Consumer Relationships | Lloyds Banking Group | 1 |
| Kate Pender · CEO | Fair4All Finance | 1 |
| Michelle Highman · CEO | The Money Charity | 1 |
| Mick McAteer · Co-director | Financial Inclusion and Markets Centre | 1 |
| Nici Audhlam-Gardiner · Board Member Association of Financial Mutuals & C… | Foresters Financial | 1 |
| Professor Abdelhafid Benamraoui · Professor of Finance | University of Westminster | 1 |
| Rachel Blake MP · Economic Secretary to the Treasury | HM Treasury | 1 |
| Sarah Pritchard · ED Consumers, Competition and International and D… | Financial Conduct Authority | 1 |
| Sian Williams · Chair | Financial Inclusion Commission | 1 |
| Stephen Noakes · Director of Retail | Nationwide | 1 |
| Date | Direction | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jun 2026 | — | Correspondence from the FCA to the Treasury on follow-up to Financial Inclusion… |
| 24 Jun 2026 | — | Correspondence from Chair to Economic Secretary to the Treasury on follow-up to… |
| 24 Jun 2026 | — | Correspondence from Chair to the FCA on follow-up to Financial Inclusion sessio… |
| 24 Jun 2026 | — | Correspondence from Economic Secretary to the Treasury on follow-up to Financia… |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence from Nationwide on the Financial Inclusion Strategy evidence ses… |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence to Nationwide on the Financial Inclusion Strategy evidence sessi… |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence to the ABI on the Financial Inclusion Strategy evidence session … |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence to Lloyds Banking Group on the Financial Inclusion Strategy evid… |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence from the ABI on the Financial Inclusion Strategy evidence sessio… |
| 13 May 2026 | — | Correspondence from Lloyds Banking Group on the Financial Inclusion Strategy ev… |
| 15 Apr 2026 | To cttee | Joint letter from Registry Trust Ltd, StepChange Debt Charity, and Surviving Ec… |
| 10 Mar 2026 | — | Correspondence from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on changes to the Fi… |
| Date | Type | Detail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul 2026 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | Private meeting · Room 15, Palace of Westminster |