Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Simon Clarke)]

Obviously we are all clear that all fraud against the Exchequer is an outrage and totally wrong. That is why we have established a £100 million taxpayer protection taskforce, which is precisely determined to focus on that. We also have a new fraud function within Government, which is heavily focused on making sure that we address those issues. We are determined to make sure that, where there has been wrongdoing, we crack down on it and recover the money to the maximum extent that we can. Obviously, when introducing these schemes, we had to balance the imperative of speed of delivery against the risks, and I think we struck the appropriate balance at that time.

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

There was widespread welcome for last week’s announcement that the Government will introduce a financial services and markets Bill. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the intention of that Bill will be to ensure that future regulation is proportionate, that the regulator is publicly accountable and that we intend to maintain the international competitiveness of this great industry?

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen)]

Absolutely I can. I note the observations of some economists yesterday; we will have an obligation on regulators to take account of competitiveness and of where we are in the global context.