Select committee: Treasury Committee

Second Special Report - Edinburgh Reforms One Year On: Has Anything Changed? Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report

Published 21 February 2024

At a glance

The government's response

This is the government's response, 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.

This is a government response document, so it has no recommendations of its own.