Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the launch of Green Savings Bonds by National Savings & Investments.

The Green Savings Bonds were made available to customers via National Savings and Investments on 22 October and will be on sale for a minimum of three months. The 3-year fixed-term savings product was launched with an interest rate of 0.65% and customers can invest between £100 and £100,000.

This innovative policy, a world-first of its kind launched by a sovereign, provides UK savers with the opportunity to take part in the collective effort to tackle climate change. Since the product launch, savers have continued to invest in this bond, and they will benefit from the UK Government green financing programme’s transparent reporting processes which will detail how their savings are helping to address the most pressing environmental issues of the day. The first annual allocation report, due to be published by September 2022, will show exactly how the proceeds raised have been used. The first biennial impact report is due to be published in 2023 and will set out the positive environmental impacts of the expenditures backed by the Green Savings Bonds and green gilts. These will include benefits to the climate and biodiversity as well as, in a first for sovereign issuers, the social co-benefits of green expenditures within the programme.