Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she had made of the potential implication for her policies of Vanguard Group Inc's decision to rescind on its commitments to Net Zero 2050 targets in the context of that Group being a signatory to the Stewardship Code.

The UK Stewardship Code sets high standards for stewardship practice and disclosure. Signatories must explain their approaches to investment, including with regard to systemic risks such as climate change, and report annually on the outcome of their stewardship activities. It is for individual companies to decide which initiatives or commitments they pledge to fulfil. The Code does not require signatories to be committed to specific initiatives or targets. The Government welcomes the continued growth of the UN-convened Net Zero Asset Managers Alliance, which now has 301 signatories representing $59 trillion assets under management.