Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

Since our last oral questions, we have recently published England’s first long-term farming road map, as I mentioned earlier, and we have opened the first application window for our reformed sustainable farming incentive. I visited the Groundswell agricultural festival to see regenerative farming in action, and I will be at the Great Yorkshire show next week.

Our water delivery taskforce has recently unlocked the infrastructure needed to support nearly 20,000 new homes in East Anglia, and we are taking action to ensure that products on British supermarket shelves such as coffee and cocoa are not linked to illegal deforestation overseas. Like the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), I spoke at London Climate Action Week about our bold action to restore nature, and I welcomed the UN Secretary-General to Kew Gardens. Yesterday I announced the biggest ever investment in species recovery.

Finally, we are a nation of animal lovers, as you know very well, Mr Speaker. I have today published the Government’s plans to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 in order to deliver better outcomes for this great profession—the Act has not been updated since 1966—and our much-loved pets.

[Callum Anderson]

Farmers in north Buckinghamshire have raised queries with me regarding the transition from environmental land management agreements that expired this year to the funding available through the much-welcomed sustainable farming incentive 2026. Will the Secretary of State set out how the Government are supporting farmers through the transition, so that there are no unintended funding gaps for those who want to deliver positive environmental outcomes?

[Emma Reynolds]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We have worked in close partnership with farmers and stakeholders to shape the new SFI. I can reassure my hon. Friend, and Members across the House, that those farmers who have soon-to-expire ELM revenue agreements will be able to apply in the second window of SFI later this year, in September.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to reform the sustainable farming incentive.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

I set out further details of the 2026 sustainable farming incentive offer at the National Farmers Union conference last month. We are streamlining action and reducing complexity, so that more farmers can access funding. The offer will be simpler and fairer, with priority access in June for small farms, and farms not already in receipt of environmental land management scheme agreements.

[Callum Anderson]

I was pleased to welcome my right hon. Friend to Adstockfields, a great small family farm in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, for a rural summit. As she knows, the SFI came up frequently. Can she set out for the House the steps that she has taken to ensure that farmers with SFI 2023 and countryside stewardship mid-tier agreements that are expiring this year can move on to SFI 2026 agreements, without losing any support?

[Emma Reynolds]

It was a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend and farmers from Buckinghamshire at the farm in his constituency for our rural summit, at which we discussed SFI and other issues. At the end of last year, the Government decided to extend expiring mid-tier agreements. I understand that farmers are concerned about any gap in their support, and we are looking to see what we can do to fix that problem.

Financial Services Reform

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

It is always a great pleasure to come and give evidence to the hon. Gentleman’s Committee. I reassure him that the Government are upholding the ringfencing regime. We must strike the right balance between protecting financial stability and safeguarding depositors. Equally, we think that there are some flexibilities that should be explored within the ringfencing regime that will allow further growth and further capital to be deployed in the real economy.

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her statement and commend the work that she and the Chancellor have done on the wider Leeds reforms. I want to pick up on the forthcoming campaign to promote retail investment, which has the potential to reshape public understanding of risk, reward and financial planning. The problem with many similar campaigns is that they have failed to reach the people who most need them, so can the Minister provide a bit more detail about how the Treasury intends to work with both the financial services industry and civil society to ensure that the campaign delivers measurable benefits and improvements in financial capability across the whole population?

[Emma Reynolds]

My hon. Friend is a great campaigner on this issue, and he is absolutely right: this is not an easy nut to crack. We will work closely with the industry-led campaign. We need to give people who want to invest and save for the longer term the confidence to consider whether they can secure better returns through investing, rather than just holding large amounts—if they have those large amounts—of money in cash.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Tuesday 1st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

As people are living longer, they face more complex financial choices. The new, simplified advice regime announced by the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority yesterday is hugely welcome and will help more people make better informed investment decisions. Will the Minister provide more detail on the steps the Government will be taking to help firms deliver better advice at scale, especially to young people and the self-employed?

[Emma Reynolds]

We are really excited about targeted support, because it means that firms will be able to make suggestions to consumers with similarities, so that they have the confidence to invest in the long term and can get better support—not advice—on their pensions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

12. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department’s regulatory policies on trends in the level of investment.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

We have heard from UK businesses that our regulatory system often holds back growth and investment. We recently published a regulation action plan, and committed to cutting the administrative costs of regulation for businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament. We are going further, faster than ever before to streamline regulation and make Britain the best place in the world to do business.

[Callum Anderson]

The Minister will know that both domestic and international investors are often influenced by decisions taken by multiple agencies, regulators, and indeed Government Departments, which is why consistency is key. Can the Minister update the House on how the Treasury is supporting a whole-of-Government and whole-of-regulator approach to delivering coherent UK regulatory frameworks that strike a balance between protecting consumers and boosting the global competitiveness of the UK economy?

[Emma Reynolds]

This is a whole-of-Government approach, and we have secured 60 commitments from key regulators to improving the business environment. The Government are streamlining regulation and stripping back its duplication, to ultimately deliver a regulatory system that encourages new investment, innovation and growth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Callum Anderson and Emma Reynolds

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

It is our view that it is absolutely right that the Bank of England has operational independence. That is in line with international standards and what is happening in jurisdictions around the world, including in the United States and the eurozone.

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

Recent developments in the UK investment trust sector have once again shone a light on the crucial role that retail investors play in our financial markets. In her Mansion House speech last November, the Chancellor rightly prioritised leveraging domestic pension capital to drive the Government’s economic growth mission. Does the Minister agree that greater retail participation in UK financial markets also supports growth and democratises wealth, and will she meet me to discuss how the Government can better support access to financial markets for individuals, including in my constituency?

[Emma Reynolds]

I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend, who is a near constituency neighbour. We absolutely agree that retail investment is crucial. I want more progress on the advice guidance boundary and targeted support. I will be working closely, in my new role, with the Financial Conduct Authority to take that forward.