Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the Financial Conduct Authority in its secondary international competitiveness and growth objective.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since the introduction of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) secondary international competitiveness and growth objective in 2023, the FCA has made meaningful progress in working to further the objective. For example, last year, the FCA consulted on proposals that will reduce reporting requirements for more than 36,000 firms, with expected annual savings of over £28 million. The FCA also recently launched the Scale-Up Unit jointly with the Prudential Regulation Authority, which will make it simpler for scaling firms to get timely responses to regulatory queries and access expert support. This will support entrepreneurs to focus on developing new products, hiring staff, and bringing investment into local economies.
The Government welcomes the two reports the FCA published in 2024 and 2025, and the accompanying metrics, outlining the FCA’s performance against the objective, as well as the letters from the FCA Chief Executive to the Prime Minister in January 2025 and December 2025 to outline progress on almost 50 measures to support growth through financial services regulation.
The Treasury continues to work closely with the FCA to hold it to account and challenge it to go further to support the government’s growth mission while furthering its objectives. This includes through the regular performance reviews the Economic Secretary holds with the FCA Chief Executive, introduced in 2025 as part of the government’s wider Regulation Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of long-term asset funds (LTAFs) that were available to consumers before the announcement that LTAFs can be held in stocks and shares individual savings accounts from 2026.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to make sure that those who have the ability to put away money for the long-term can do so, and enabling Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) to be held in Stocks & Shares ISAs aims to enable more people to have access to longer-term investment options.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes details of authorised funds on its website.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to limit the period of the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox to less than five years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) Sandbox is due to last five years, until 5 June 2030, with the possibility of extension.
The Treasury is working with the Financial Conduct Authority to monitor outcomes during the lifetime of the sandbox and retains the ability to terminate or make the sandbox arrangements permanent at an earlier stage if appropriate, subject to Parliamentary approval.
In any case, the Treasury is committed to providing transparency, certainty and clear communications to PISCES operators and market participants.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 19 December 2024 (HL3296), what advice they have sought on establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United Kingdom; and whether they have had discussions with the government of the United States of America about any potential benefits this might offer the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in my previous response, HM Treasury currently has no plans to adopt a strategic bitcoin reserve.
The UK and US have a close and historic relationship and hold regular engagement. We will not comment on hypothetical policy positions.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the UK and whether they will commission advice on this matter.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s foreign currency assets are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account. These assets are managed in line with the following investment principles:
Bitcoin has been a historically highly volatile asset relative to stable fiat currencies like the US dollar, and commodities, such as gold. This volatility makes Bitcoin unsuitable as a reserve asset for the UK.
Given this, the Government has no plans to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve.