Lord Cruddas

Under the Inquiries Act 2005, the process, timing and procedure of the Inquiry are decisions for the Inquiry’s independent Chair, Baroness Hallett. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work and she has been clear that she intends to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The Government published the “Smarter regulation non-financial reporting review: call for evidence” in May 2023, seeing views on the non-financial disclosure requirements under the Companies Act, particularly the Strategic and Directors’ Reports. A list of requirements in scope of the review can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/smarter-regulation-non-financial-reporting-review-call-for-evidence/annex-individual-reporting-requirements. The review is being undertaken by the Department for Business and Trade with assistance from the Financial Reporting Council. The findings of the review will be published, and any resulting legislative changes will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny in due course.

The Government aims to ensure any reporting obligations for companies are proportionate; with benefits that outweigh their costs. This includes reporting on environmental, social and governance matters. The Government is undertaking a review of non-financial reporting with a view to simplifying reporting requirements and reducing unnecessary burdens. It will also ensure that businesses continue to provide necessary transparency on environmental, social and governance matters to investors and other stakeholders.

Reporting on environmental, social and governance matters provides transparency to investors and other stakeholders, improving investment decisions. The Government believes that a mix of voluntary and mandatory reporting provides the right balance between transparency and reducing burdens on companies.

The Government supports the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board, which aims to align sustainability reporting globally, enabling investors to effectively compare investment decisions across markets. The Government is currently undertaking a Review of Non-Financial Reporting in order to reduce business burdens and will shortly consult on the next steps on the review.

It is crucial that all pupils are equipped with the knowledge and tools to manage their finances well in later life. That is why financial education is embedded in the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4, and in citizenship at key stages 3 and 4.

The national curriculum is compulsory for maintained schools, but all schools are measured by Ofsted on having a broad and balanced curriculum which is comparable to the national curriculum. As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools can choose how to teach financial education and they can tailor what they teach to make sure all pupils are taught what they need to know.

The Levelling Up White Paper identified 55 Education Investment Areas where the department will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and accelerate progress towards the department’s 2030 ambition that 90% of pupils meet the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of primary school and that the average mathematics and English GCSE grade increases to a 5.

There is a range of financial education support for schools. For example, Oak National Academy, an Arm’s Length Body, has published its initial mathematics resources, with the full curriculum available by this autumn. As part of this, Oak is exploring including additional lessons in real life mathematics. Secondary citizenship resources will become available from autumn 2024 and will be complete by autumn 2025. The Money and Pensions Service has published guidance for schools and there is specialist support for fraud and tax education from the Home Office and HMRC respectively.

The department also works closely with the Money and Pensions Service which exists to help people make the most of their money and pensions, particularly those most in need and those most vulnerable to financial insecurity. The Money and Pensions Service has invested £1.1 million in financial education programmes to support children and young people in vulnerable circumstances and has published guidance to help children and young people's services to embed financial wellbeing into the services they offer.

As of February 2024, 69.7% of open primary schools (11,680) and 57.7% of open secondary schools (1,970) have participated in at least one year of the Teaching for Mastery Programme.

The department has no plans to undertake a detailed review of the teaching of financial literacy in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The department continues to work closely with HM Treasury and the Money and Pensions Service to monitor the evidence base for financial education to understand what works and what further support schools may need.

In order to provide stability for schools and to enable them to remain focused on raising standards of literacy and numeracy and recovery from the pandemic, the government has committed to making no changes to the national curriculum for the remainder of the Parliament.

The current mathematics curriculum in England already provides young people with the mathematical knowledge that underpins their ability to make important financial decisions. Mathematics is compulsory in maintained schools and academies must teach a broad and balanced curriculum, including mathematics. Since 2014, the department has reformed the mathematics curriculum and examinations system, bringing teaching practice from high-performing jurisdictions from across East Asia to primary and secondary schools in England.

International comparison studies of school-aged pupils show that England performs above the international averages for mathematics for all age groups. Before the pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics score in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study international test for year five pupils.

Ofsted’s latest mathematical subject report in 2023 stated that primary mathematics education has seen "a resounding, positive shift" with curriculum sitting "at the heart of leaders' decisions and actions", whilst secondary mathematics education has seen "notable improvements" in curriculum guidance and professional development.

The government has not carried out its own research into how other countries have addressed the introduction of financial literacy in their schools.

The curriculum in England already includes compulsory financial education within the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4, and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, using non-statutory programmes of study.

Evidence from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment suggests there is a strong correlation between performance in financial literacy and performance in mathematics; and a positive correlation between financial literacy performance and learning finance-related terms at school. This evidence is available on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.oecd.org/education/pisa-2018-results-volume-iv-48ebd1ba-en.htm.

Since 2014, the government has transformed the way mathematics is taught in schools through the introduction of mastery pedagogy based on top performing East Asian countries. Mastery aims to ensure that pupils secure the deep knowledge and understanding of mathematics which provides the underlying knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Maths Hubs’ Teaching for Mastery programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025.

Oak National Academy is also developing free, optional and adaptable resources for schools. Oak has published its initial mathematics resources, with the full curriculum available by this autumn. As part of this, Oak is exploring including additional lessons in real life mathematics. Secondary citizenship resources will become available from autumn 2024 and will be complete by autumn 2025.

The department continues to work closely with HM Treasury and the Money and Pensions Service, to support their efforts to coordinate the work of organisations involved in delivering the goals set out in the National Strategy for Financial Wellbeing 2020. This includes monitoring the evidence base for financial education to understand what works and what further support schools may need.

We understand concerns about food price inflation, and its impact on the costs of living. That is why tackling inflation is this Government’s number one priority, with a plan to more than halve inflation this year, and we are monitoring all key agricultural commodities so that we can work with the food industry to address the challenges they face.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the current exceptionally high cost of living. We continue to support households through our £94bn package, worth £3,300 on average per household this year and last.

The recent high levels of overall inflation have primarily been driven by higher energy prices and pressures on global supply chains and there are further signs those are beginning to ease. May 2023 CPI food price inflation was 18.3%, a decrease compared to April 2023 when it was 19%. This means that food prices are still increasing but at a slower rate than before.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. We continue to use regular engagement to work with retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food; for example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. The recent increase in food price inflation is driven by higher utility prices and pressures on global supply chains that are being felt globally. Industry analyst expectations are that we are either at or approaching the food price inflation peak. They then expect food price inflation to gradually decrease over the remainder of 2023.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive-up consumer food prices. Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures. It is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. Rising food prices are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the current exceptionally high cost of living. To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor recently announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills.

While the Department for Transport works closely with Transport for London (TfL) on a range of issues, transport in London is devolved and is the responsibility of the Mayor of London (MoL) and TfL. This includes decisions on the Ultra Low Emission Zone and the Congestion Charge. Parking policy is also a devolved matter for both TfL and the London boroughs. The public can hold the MoL to account for his decisions, including ULEZ, at the ballot box in 2024.