Financial Services and Markets Bill [Lords]

Debate between Tom Hayes and Mark Garnier

2nd reading
Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

I thank the Chancellor for his speech’s very positive tone. As he so rightly said, there was a lot of collaboration in the House of Lords as our colleagues were taking through this Bill, and I certainly intend to enter the conversation in a similar spirit of collaboration over the coming weeks and months.

As the Chancellor has said, the financial services sector is incredibly important to this country. It is the engine room that powers our economy. As the Chancellor has also said, it generates 8% of our national economic output, contributes £12 in every £100 of tax paid and makes up 3% of all jobs in the UK. As the Chancellor so rightly said, two thirds of those jobs are outside London.

The sector truly is a jewel in our economic crown, but it is important to remember that financial services underpin our everyday lives—for example, they support my constituents in opening and running businesses. They support all our constituents across this great country to get on to the housing ladder. They support people across the UK in ways that are not truly understood, including financial support for their employer; ensuring that their homes and other assets are insured; providing liquidity to buy expensive items such as a car; and helping to provide for our retirement. What happens just a mile or so up the road and across the country helps every one of us in pretty much every aspect of our lives.

Despite that, we must be careful. The UK’s financial services and related professional services sector are at a crossroads. TheCityUK published earlier this year its “No Time to Lose” report in conjunction with PwC, which I will quote directly. It said that

“the hard truth is that overall industry growth has stalled over the last decade and the UK is falling behind other financial centres.”

Our international competitiveness should be our priority, because the UK market is so internationally focused. As we know, London is the second-biggest financial services centre on the planet, second only to New York. However, while New York’s financial services market is 80% led by its domestic economy, here in the UK London is 80% international. At the most basic level, our international competitiveness is four times as valuable to us here as it is to the Americans across the Atlantic.

The Chancellor rightly mentioned the Budget, during which he said to the banks that

“I celebrate, and am grateful for, the role that you play.”—[Official Report, 28 October 2026; Vol. 792, c. 307],

But then he increased the bank levy by 3%. To be fair to him, bank stocks did go up on the day, because they were expecting a 5% permanent levy. None the less, we have to bear in mind that that takes the marginal tax rate on banks to 49.5%. That is not competitive on the international stage. We need to be mindful of that, because we need to attract international banks to come to our shores, and it is very important that we get this right. We understand that that generates a little more tax, but we want more people to invest in this country, and that is why we were against that measure. It sends the wrong signal.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Member join me in congratulating J.P. Morgan? It is in its 40th year of operation in Bournemouth, and this year it is investing £350 million into Bournemouth and the wider UK economy. It is doing that because it sees the overriding talent in Bournemouth and across the UK. The Bournemouth site is the second-most important site across 38 in Europe, the middle east and Africa for the world’s largest bank and seventh-largest technologist. Is that not a vote of confidence in the UK economy?

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is incredibly important to remember that banks such as J.P. Morgan invest in the wider community, but Jamie Dimon has said that he is worried about uncertainty around the tax regime on banks in the UK. He has warned that if we are uncertain and increase the level of tax on banks, they will not invest another £300 million or so into Canary Wharf. That is the point: we have to be mindful of international competitiveness. It does not take much, when we are taxing close to 50% on banks, for them to change their mind and go to another financial services centre. However, the hon. Gentleman’s point is absolutely right: the value of international investment by banks in communities such as his is really important.

Rogue Builders

Debate between Tom Hayes and Mark Garnier

Thursday 13th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Gentleman has probably read my speech, as that is the core of it. The legal problem is bigger than just failing to support victims through the court system. Rogue builders know the legal system works in their favour. There are builders who create fictitious bills or charge fictitious costs for work not carried out—I have seen that as a victim myself. I contracted a builder to renovate a much-loved family home, and they failed to do the work in time, which was a breach of contract. They rattled on for far too long, they did not do the whole work and, at the end, they put in a massive, fictitious bill. Our quantity surveyor reckoned there was an outstanding balance to pay of perhaps £6,000, but they put in a bill for £100,000.

In the end, everybody said, “You have to negotiate.” We negotiated a final settlement, which was multiple times in excess. This is a fundamental problem. We do not get redress, and we have to negotiate even if we know the negotiation is bogus.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. There are lots of excellent and reliable builders in Bournemouth East, but I am thinking of my constituents Andrew and Heather, who have really suffered at the hands of a rogue builder whose contact details they were unable to access. They got in touch with me because of their concern about their circumstances. Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me, and with them, that the domestic building industry needs strong licensing and regulation? Without that, we will not stop cowboy builders exploiting my constituents.

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Gentleman makes exactly the right point. We need a balance of risk, and I will come to that point later.

Consumers of repair, maintenance and improvement building services have no protection whatsoever. There is no practical protection for consumers to avoid the highly risky, unbelievably expensive and emotionally draining prospect of prosecuting contract law. Indeed, subcontractors working on my home were also victims of the rogue builder because they were not paid, either. It is extraordinary that consumers are unprotected. When we think about the whole process of refurbishing a home or building an extension, it looks even more astonishing.

The proud homeowner seeking to improve their home will go to an architect regulated by the Architects Registration Board. They might contract a quantity surveyor regulated by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. They will probably need to borrow money, so they might approach a mortgage broker regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. They will get help with a mortgage provided by a lender—again, regulated by the FCA, and possibly the Prudential Regulation Authority—with advice from a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The money will then be deposited in a bank, again regulated by the FCA and the PRA.

The whole process is laden with consumer protection right up to the point where the money is handed over to someone with absolutely no regulation, possibly no qualifications, and no protection mechanism for consumers. As I said before, the problem gets worse, but it is worth repeating. The victim may well prosecute the case in court and win both damages and costs. But at that point the rogue builder goes bust with no assets, as pointed out by the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand), and starts a new business the following day to continue the process of ripping off consumers. Meanwhile, the victim’s costs are unpaid and run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The consumer ends up winning the moral victory but losing an enormous amount of money, while the rogue builder goes on to do the same again without any consequence.