Oral Answers to Questions

Tony Baldry Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The average taxpayer will be better off by £700 a year as a result of these changes.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

15. What recent steps he has taken to increase competitiveness in the banking sector.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Sajid Javid)]

The Government are driving a wide-ranging and ambitious programme of reforms to make the banking sector more competitive and to give consumers a better deal. This includes reducing market barriers, encouraging current account switching, and putting competition at the heart of the regulatory system.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Will my hon. Friend commend the Church Commissioners for their investment in Williams and Glyn’s as a new competitive bank that intends to have the highest ethical standards? As well as increasing competition in banking, is it not also crucial that we have a system of banking regulation with clear accountability and responsibility, avoiding mistakes in the system designed by the previous Administration?

[Sajid Javid]

I congratulate the Church Commissioners on their role and the expertise that they bring. Given that my hon. Friend is a commissioner, I take this opportunity to congratulate him too. He is right to highlight the fact that the previous Government’s changes to financial regulation contributed significantly to the banking crisis in 2008. That caused misery and hardship for millions of hard-working families, yet I notice that the Opposition have yet to apologise.