Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to take further steps to reform regulation of the (a) home and (b) travel insurance markets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government expects that insurers deliver good outcomes to consumers and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. These rules require firms to ensure their products offer fair value. This means the price paid by consumers must be reasonable compared to the benefits they receive. The FCA monitors firms and has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.
The government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, published on 5 November 2025, recognises that insurance has an important part to play in financial resilience and wellbeing, and sets out a range of interventions to improve access. This includes a total signposting initiative which will help underserved consumers find insurance policies which meet their needs.
The government also plans to publish the final report of the cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce in the autumn. As part of the taskforce’s work to understand how the cost of motor insurance impacts on particular groups of customers, the FCA is conducting statistical analysis to evaluate the impacts on different age groups and consumers living in areas with a higher proportion of minority ethnic residents. The FCA will publish its findings later this year.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to affordable credit for (a) people and (b) small businesses in the 100 most deprived communities according to the English indices of multiple deprivation 2025 published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 30 October 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that credit, when provided responsibly, supports business growth, and can be crucial for people facing unexpected expenses or managing their cash flow.
The UK has a diverse landscape for credit provision to individuals and businesses, comprising traditional banks, challenger and specialist banks, and non-bank finance providers such as Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). In 2024, CDFIs and social banks lent £96.7 million to 364 social enterprises, with 67% of this lending directed to the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.
The Government recently published its Financial Inclusion Strategy which sets out an ambitious programme of measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience for people across the UK. In recognition of the important role responsible credit can play for consumers, the strategy includes a focus on access to credit, among other priority issues, with the launch of new funding to support the credit union sector in England and a small sum lending pilot.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, if she will review the availability of affordable credit in mission critical neighbourhoods.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that credit, when provided responsibly, can be crucial for people facing unexpected expenses or managing their cash flow.
The UK has a diverse landscape for credit provision to individuals, comprising traditional banks, challenger and specialist banks, credit unions, and non-bank finance providers. Within this landscape, Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play an important role in delivering credit to consumers who are underserved by mainstream lenders. In 2024, CDFIs provided £81.8 million in loans to over 130,000 individuals. More than a third of these borrowers in England were based in the North, which contains most of England’s mission critical neighbourhoods as identified by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods.
Today I have published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes a focus on how to improve access to affordable credit. The Strategy outlines measures to support the community finance sector, including encouraging partnerships between the sector and mainstream firms. It was developed in collaboration with a range of consumer and industry representatives and the Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders to deliver on the interventions.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take legislative steps to reform the Bank Referral Scheme to ensure that SMEs are referred to the (a) most appropriate and (b) best value funding option.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 28 October to PQ 84135.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82947 on Banks and Community Development Finance Institutions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reasons for which (a) HSBC, (b) Santander and (c) Barclays have not chosen to support work between banks and Community Development Finance Institutions to support the provision of affordable credit in the areas of highest deprivation.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As outlined in my previous response, the Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. However I cannot comment on how individual banks decide to approach provision of affordable credit.
I am very grateful for the engagement by a range of banks and CDFIs in contributing to the upcoming Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes a focus on access to affordable credit and will seek to ensure people have access to useful products and services for their needs.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82944 on Credit Unions, if she will publish the responses to the call for evidence.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
Responses to the call for evidence are currently being considered, and the government will provide an update on this work in due course.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to require (a) banks and (b) other major financial services providers to invest in community development finance institutions.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. To support this, in November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding (CEF) Programme, which aims to deploy £150 million over the next two years to ‘not for profit’ lenders, including CDFIs.
Several banks have already shown tangible support for CDFIs. For example, in 2023 NatWest provided £900,000 to the sector, with half distributed directly to households to help meet immediate needs during the cost-of-living crisis, and the remainder used to strengthen the sector’s capacity for future support. Similarly, Lloyds was announced as the lead investor in a new £62 million Community Investment Enterprise Fund, designed to help small businesses across England and Wales access finance through CDFIs, supporting local jobs and economic activity.
My predecessor co-chaired a roundtable in July with Responsible Finance, which was an important opportunity to discuss how banks and CDFIs can work together to improve access to affordable credit. However, the Government has no plans to require banks or other major providers to invest in CDFIs.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that SMEs are referred to the (a) most appropriate and (b) best value funding option under the Bank Referral Scheme.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Bank Referral Scheme is a legislative initiative that requires major lenders (designated banks) to refer SME customers that they reject for finance, with the SME’s permission, to designated finance platforms that can connect the SME with alternative finance providers.
The Scheme is designed so that once an SME has consented to referral, its details are shared with all designated finance platforms – there are currently three. Each designated finance platform is an online service that hosts a panel of lenders. Under the design of the Scheme, lenders decide whether to offer finance to an SME applying for finance and on what terms, and it is for the SME to decide whether it wishes to proceed if an offer is made. The SME could potentially be offered finance by more than one provider and would be free to choose the product best suited to its needs.
On 27th October, the Government launched a consultation and call for evidence on the Bank Referral Scheme, inviting views on a range of issues and proposals aimed at better facilitating SME access to finance through the Scheme. Depending on feedback, the Government will consider whether the existing legislative framework needs to be amended. The consultation is available here and will close on 22nd December: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bank-referral-scheme-consultation-and-call-for-evidence
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will require banks to submit quarterly data on the number of small and medium sized business account (a) openings and (b) closures.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the vital role financial services play in supporting millions of businesses across the UK, and believes all customers should be treated fairly by banks and have access to the financial services they need.
This is why the Government introduced new rules earlier this year to require banks to give customers 90 days' notice before closing accounts and provide a clear explanation. The Government’s new rules will ensure more transparent and predictable access to banking, while still recognising that it is a commercial decision for a provider as to whom they provide services for.
More widely, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitors banks regarding account openings and closures and has published reports looking at debanking. Beyond this, the Treasury has no plans to require banks to submit further information in this area.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 81241 on Credit Unions: Mortgages, what information her Department holds on which credit unions offer mortgages in each (a) region and (b) UK nation.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are six credit unions in the UK currently offering mortgages.
Of these, two are headquartered in England, three in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland.
Of those headquartered in England, one is located in the North West and one is located in London.
Depending on the credit union in question’s common bond type, these credit unions may serve members outside of their headquartered regions.
Credit union policy is devolved to Northern Ireland, and so legislation may differ.