Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is governed by the framework set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. This includes a range of mechanisms to ensure the accountability and transparency of the FOS.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for ensuring that the FOS is, at all times, capable of exercising its statutory functions.

To support transparency and accountability, the FOS is required to lay its annual report and accounts before Parliament, and is subject to statutory audit by the National Audit Office.

Representatives of the FOS may also be called to appear before Parliamentary committees, including the Treasury Select Committee, which most recently occurred earlier this month.

HM Treasury meets regularly with both the FOS and the FCA to discuss relevant issues and performance against their statutory functions. This includes work to deliver the package of reforms announced by the Chancellor at Mansion House in November 2024, to modernise the framework under which the FOS operates and give clearer expectations to consumers and firms.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to automatically delete emails after 12 months.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The FCA is operationally independent of government and therefore the Treasury has not made an assessment of this decision.

The government expects the FCA to act in accordance with high standards of transparency and operational efficiency, and will continue to hold the FCA to account for how it exercises its functions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to allow credit unions to access the Bank of England’s liquidity facilities.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Credit unions are not currently eligible to access the Bank of England’s liquidity facilities, but the Bank continually assesses the types of firms that are eligible. The Government has made clear its strong support for the credit union sector, recognising the value that credit unions bring to their members in local communities across the country in providing savings products and affordable credit. The Government continues to engage regularly with this sector to understand the current barriers they face and to consider further opportunities for growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee's 15% cap on mortgage lending.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The flow limit, which limits the number of mortgages extended at loan-to-income (LTI) ratios of 4.5 or higher to 15% of a lender’s new mortgage lending, is set by the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England.

While the Government does not seek to intervene in decisions made by the independent FPC, the Chancellor has recommended that the Committee consider how its decisions support the Government’s priority of supporting home ownership, as stated in her remit letter sent to the FPC on 14 November 2024.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of additional mortgages that could be approved by increasing the 15% cap on bank mortgage lending above 4.5 times income to (a) 17.5%, (b) 20% or (c) removing the cap entirely.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The flow limit, which limits the number of mortgages extended at loan-to-income (LTI) ratios of 4.5 or higher to 15% of a lender’s new mortgage lending, is set by the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England.

While the Government does not seek to intervene in decisions made by the independent FPC, the Chancellor has recommended that the Committee consider how its decisions support the Government’s priority of supporting home ownership, as stated in her remit letter sent to the FPC on 14 November 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the unavailability of localiser performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approaches on (a) general aviation, (b) emergency medical services and (c) regional airports; and what steps her Department is taking to deal with the (i) economic and (ii) operational impact of the loss of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) services at airports.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Larger UK airports and many regional airports have Instrument Landing Systems in place and therefore a satellite-based augmentation system) such as European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), is primarily beneficial at smaller regional airports and General Aviation aerodromes during periods of poor weather resulting in restricted visibility. Flights that are taking place continue to do so safely, following alternative Civil Aviation Authority approved procedures.

Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) will, in the UK, be supported through a GNSS Point in Space ‘PinS’ approach to helicopter landing sites at trauma hospitals which will greatly assist in increasing the utility of air ambulance helicopters in poor visibility conditions.

Government is considering options for UK access to a satellite-based augmentation system, following our withdrawal from the EU's EGNOS system. This work is ongoing and no decision has yet been made.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department plans to lay the Statutory Instrument for the introduction of the PISCES Sandbox.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chancellor announced at Mansion House in November 2024, the government intends to lay the statutory instrument which will provide the legal framework for the PISCES Sandbox before Parliament by May 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Bank of England on increasing the proposed eligibility threshold in its consultation on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) to £50bn.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is continuing to engage closely with the Bank of England on its recent consultation on its approach to setting a minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), which closed on 24 January. The Bank of England sets MREL policy, including the thresholds for MREL, independently in its capacity as resolution authority.

The Government recognises the varied feedback raised by industry, including on the asset-based threshold. The Government’s engagement with the Bank of England has included and will continue to include consideration of this feedback as well as the impacts on economic growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been raised from stamp duty charged to UK listed equity transactions in each financial year since 2010.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Revenue and Customs does not hold the necessary information on its statistical data systems to separate transactions of UK listed equity and the resulting Stamp Tax on Shares charge from other sources of Stamp Tax on Shares revenue.

However, the majority of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) receipts likely relate to UK listed equity transactions. A timeseries of SDRT receipts is included in Table 1 of the UK Stamp Tax statistics publication available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-stamp-tax-statistics

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of (a) reducing the cash ISA limit to £4,000 and (b) creating incentives to put money into stocks and shares ISAs on the amount of money that will be put into stocks and shares ISAs in each of the next three years.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.

The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide.

The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing stamp duty from UK listed equity transactions on economic growth.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Collectively, Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax are currently forecast to raise up to £5bn per year, providing vital revenue which helps to fund key public services.

The existing framework contains multiple reliefs and exemptions which are designed to boost liquidity and growth.

The government keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s decision to introduce a £250 charge for claims management companies to refer cases.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that many professional representatives, including claims management companies, provide a valuable service to consumers by supporting them to make financial services redress claims. However, there are examples of poor behaviour from some professional representatives, and the Government considers that introducing a fee for professional representatives when they bring cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will help to ensure that the FOS can focus on promptly resolving consumer complaints and reduce the impact of spurious complaints on financial services firms.

On 25 November 2024, Parliament approved a Statutory Instrument which allows the FOS to charge fees to professional representatives.

The FOS is responsible for determining exactly who it charges and the level of any fees, and following extensive consultation, it has confirmed its intention to charge professional representatives from 1 April 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the recommendations within the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee's report entitled Naming and shaming: how not to regulate, published on 6 February 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government welcomes the publication of this report and its recommendations for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Effective Parliamentary scrutiny is key to ensuring a well-functioning regulatory environment with high standards of accountability and transparency.

The Government will continue to engage the FCA as it considers the responses received to its most recent consultation on these proposals and the Committee’s report, and expects the FCA to ensure that any proposals it takes forward are effective, proportionate, and contribute to a competitive regulatory environment in the UK.

Found: _NC1 James Wild Mel Stride Gareth Davies Blake Stephenson Mark Garnier .

Found: Withdrawn after debate_NC1 James Wild Mel Stride Gareth Davies Blake Stephenson Mark Garnier .