Select committee: Treasury Committee
Conclusion 14
Second Report - Edinburgh Reforms One Year On: Has Anything Changed?
Published 8 Dec 2023
Paragraph 55
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee The Edinburgh Reforms All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Sub-Committee understands and supports the Treasury in carrying out reforms that follow the appropriate processes. Reforms to the financial services rules should be evidence-based, taking into consideration views from both industry and wider society. This engagement takes time and must be done correctly, giving stakeholders sufficient time to consider their responses. Nevertheless, the time taken between the Treasury announcing a policy objective and the implementation of changes to rules has been too long. Often Treasury consultations end, and the next stage of the process stalls at this point, with Treasury responses and next steps taking considerable time.
From: Treasury Committee, Second Report - Edinburgh Reforms One Year On: Has Anything Changed? (HC 221), paragraph 55, 8 December 2023
Government response
Fourth Special Report - Edinburgh Reforms One Year On: Has Anything Changed?: Further Government Response to the Committees Second Report Fourth
The government responded to the whole report on 26 April 2024 (deadline 8 February 2024).
Second Special Report - Edinburgh Reforms One Year On: Has Anything Changed? Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report
Published 21 February 2024.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government disagrees with "a number of the Report's conclusions" and says it is "squarely focused on delivery" of the Edinburgh Reforms.
- The Economic Secretary "particularly" rejects any suggestion that the reforms will not have a substantial impact on the UK economy and financial services competitiveness, or that they could be "responsibly delivered any faster".
- It "strongly agree[s]" with the Committee that reform should be evidence-based and involve consultation, and says the Treasury is "striving to balance" pace with "appropriate time for consultation and implementation".
- It states that, as of 6 October, 21 of the 31 Edinburgh Reforms commitments "have been delivered", and lists further progress since the report, including the Digital Securities Sandbox Regulations laid on 18 December 2023.
- No new dated commitments are made; the Economic Secretary says he "remain[s] focused on delivering these reforms" and expresses confidence that they are promoting growth and competitiveness.