Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to take to help ensure the UK is an attractive destination for cryptoasset capital.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the transformative potential of digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.
This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and fiscal outlook, published on 26 November, what assessment they have made of the risks of elevated global equity valuations driven in part by AI technology stocks to the economy.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on individual market moves.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government's official forecaster responsible for assessing the UK economic and fiscal outlook, including the macroeconomic impacts of policy and the risks to the UK outlook. In its November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR assessed the potential impacts of a shock to global equity prices. The OBR presented two scenarios with a potential peak impact on UK real GDP of 0.5%-0.6% relative to its central forecast.
HM Treasury maintains a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing risks to the economic and fiscal outlook. This includes systematic monitoring through internal risk processes and risk governance forums, and collaboration with other government departments. HM Treasury also works closely with the UK financial regulators to assess risks relating to financial markets.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing clearer regulatory and tax frameworks for cryptoasset investment on a) high-skilled job creation and b) assets under management.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the transformative potential for digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.
The government also keeps the tax framework for cryptoassets under review.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying tax-compliant investment structures for cryptoassets in innovative finance ISAs to include all cryptoassets; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of involuntary non-compliance among retail investors.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the transformative potential for digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.
A draft consultation on legislation that enables the inclusion of cETNs in the IFISA is out now and will come int force in April 2026. While there are currently no plans to include all cryptoassets in IFISAs, any future consideration would take account of market maturity, stability, and the suitability of providing targeted tax reliefs alongside the new regulatory regime.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the notional lost revenue to newspapers of online platforms using content without payment in return.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The challenges of quantifying the value exchange between newspapers and online platforms have been explored by a number of studies, including the independent Cairncross Review into sustainable journalism and advice from the CMA and Ofcom on how a digital markets regime might govern the relationship between platforms and content providers such as news publishers.
Regardless of the exact transfer of value, the imbalanced commercial relationship between newspapers and online platforms has been raised as a key driver in the financial sustainability challenges facing news publishers in recent years. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (2024) gave new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority to boost competition in digital markets and help rebalance the relationship between online platforms and the businesses which rely on their services, including news publishers. The Government will continue to monitor this relationship and whether further action is required to ensure a level playing field with online platforms as AI and other new technologies continue to disrupt the market.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting interest-earning reserves on the commercial viability of pound-backed stablecoins.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance.
This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the regulatory approach on investor adoption of pound sterling based stablecoins.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance.
This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with regulators on permitting multi-jurisdiction reserve models for pound sterling stablecoin issuance.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance.
This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of restricting stablecoin use in wholesale markets on the development of tokenised settlement systems.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance.
This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps is taking to support UK participation in digital settlement markets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement.
That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance.
This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.