Select committee: Treasury Committee
Recommendation 13
First Report - Future of financial services regulation
Published 16 Jun 2022
Paragraph 91
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Future of Financial Services All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome the clearer acknowledgement that the FCA is working to support financial inclusion, and we would urge the FCA to continue to do so. The FCA should provide an annual report to Parliament on the state of financial inclusion in the UK and the Treasury should consider putting this report on a statutory basis. This Future of financial services regulation 55 report should also include a summary of areas where the FCA’s work has supported financial inclusion or future work which could impact on financial inclusion; and any recommended additional measures lying within its area of competence and which could be taken by Government and other public bodies to promote financial inclusion.
From: Treasury Committee, First Report - Future of financial services regulation (HC 141), paragraph 91, 16 June 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 September 2022 (deadline 16 August 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.HM Treasury "notes" each of the Committee's recommendations, setting out the measures in the Financial Services and Markets Bill and, in places, explaining why it does not take the approach the Committee suggested.
- On secondary objectives, the government notes the recommendation and says Clause 24 of the FSM Bill implements new secondary objectives for the FCA and PRA on medium to long-term growth and competitiveness, subject to regulators "aligning with relevant international standards".
- On financial inclusion, it does not consider that a separate 'have regard' for the FCA "would lead to a different approach or tangible improvements over the current arrangements", noting that government already publishes an annual report.
- On a forward schedule for moving EU files to the rulebooks, it recognises that further information on the programme is important and "expects to set out further information in due course".
- On Treasury funding of rule reviews, it notes the recommendation and says the Bill requires the Treasury to 'have regard' to minimising the impact of a direction on the regulator's other functions. On CBA panels, it "does not agree" they would impact regulators' independence.