Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department expects all eligible retired members of public service pension schemes under its responsibility to receive their McCloud remedy payments; and what steps she is taking to expedite payments to affected pensioners.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Scheme managers of the individual public service pension schemes are responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the McCloud remedy to affected members. I have written to scheme managers to remind them of their responsibilities to implement the remedy as quickly as possible and ensure that scheme members and the Pensions Regulator are kept informed of progress and plans.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what sectors have been identified as priorities for UK–EU alignment under the growth plan.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Alignment will be an iterative process and decisions will be based on the national interest principles set out by the Chancellor on 17 March. This means a decision to align will be made if:
- It promotes higher growth, investment, consumer benefits, and jobs for the long-term
- The future direction of policy is sufficiently stable and compatible, in terms of values and objectives
- The UK’s economic and national security and resilience is preserved or enhanced.
The Government is currently negotiating an agrifood deal that could add up to £5.1 billion a year to our economy and increase agricultural exports to the EU by 16 per cent.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what the forecast rate of UK economic growth is expected to be in each year of the forecast period; what the principal risks are to those forecasts; and what policy measures she intends to pursue to improve long-term productivity and economic growth.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) on the 3rd March 2026. The OBR forecasts that the UK economy will grow by 1.1% in 2026, and will then grow at an average rate of 1.6% per year from 2027 to 2030.
The OBR set out in their EFO what they see as the key risks to the forecasts. In their press conference, the OBR emphasised that while the central forecast does not assume a renewed energy shock, the conflict represents the key downside risk.
The government’s economic strategy is focused on delivering long-term reform, ensuring the UK is better placed to withstand external shocks. This includes targeted investment to boost growth, support innovation, and strengthen trading relationships, alongside action to improve our labour market participation and skills. These interventions form part of a broader plan to raise productivity, expand economic capacity and support living standards across the UK, while strengthening our economic resilience in an age of global insecurity shaped by geopolitical tensions, including those involving Iran.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in regulatory alignment with the EU on economic growth in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices.
Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.
Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who she has had discussions with in the Northern Ireland Executive on the Credit Union Common Bond Reform Call for Evidence Response.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The call for evidence response on credit union common bond reform in Great Britain was published on 18 March 2026. The call for evidence itself ran from November 2024 to March 2025 and was open to all to submit responses. As credit union policy is devolved to Northern Ireland, the measures announced in the government’s response apply only to Great Britain.
HM Treasury has kept the Northern Ireland Executive informed. The government has written to ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive to notify them of the legislative changes being taken forward in Great Britain. Treasury officials also engaged with counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive during the call for evidence, and this engagement is continuing following publication of the response.
These reforms will modernise the common bond framework, support the growth of the credit union sector, and help ensure that it can continue to deliver positive outcomes for members and communities across Great Britain.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Financial Conduct Authority regarding its proposal to set compensatory interest for motor finance redress at the Bank of England base rate plus one per cent, in the context courts recently awarding eight per cent to compensate vulnerable consumers for consequential financial losses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator, has consulted on proposals for a motor finance consumer redress scheme. The FCA has announced that it will set out its final approach to motor finance redress on 30 March: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/timing-fca-motor-finance-announcement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis HM Treasury has undertaken on the potential effect of UK–EU alignment measures on levels of UK competitiveness.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices.
Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.
Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in levels of UK-EU alignment on UK labour markets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices.
Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.
Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether banking hubs are obliged to accept cheque deposits.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that cheques remain an important payment method for some people. Decisions on whether cheque deposits are accepted and processed through Post Office counters in banking hubs are commercial matters for individual banks, based on their arrangements with the Post Office and Cash Access UK, which operates banking hubs.
Most retail banks currently accept cheque deposits at banking hubs and the Government expects firms to ensure that customers can continue to access the services they need.
Where this service is not available at a banking hub counter, customers continue to have alternative options to pay in cheques, including at bank branches and by post, or digitally via mobile banking apps using cheque imaging technology.
Any customers affected by changes to cheque depositing services offered through banking hubs are encouraged to contact their bank directly to request information about the bank’s plans to support them.
The Government continues to engage with the banking industry banking industry, the Post Office and Cash Access UK to improve the consistency and level of services provided through banking hubs, so that they meet the needs of communities across the UK.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact on Scottish communities of the estimated £551 million shortfall between the Financial Conduct Authority's proposed motor finance redress scheme pay outs and potential court awards as outlined in the APPG on Fair Banking Report on Car Finance redress published in November 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator, has consulted on proposals for a motor finance consumer redress scheme. The FCA has announced that it will set out its final approach to motor finance redress on 30 March: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/timing-fca-motor-finance-announcement.