Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 1st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

21. What steps she is taking to help increase economic growth in Gloucestershire.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

Kick-starting economic growth in every region and nation is the No. 1 mission of our Government. As part of our new infrastructure strategy, we have allocated £725 billion to building and rebuilding bridges, roads, schools and hospitals across the country. Also, the £2.3 billion for local government transport will benefit places such as Eastleigh and Gloucestershire. In Wales, key rail routes will benefit from £445 million of investment.

[Liz Jarvis]

Small to medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the local economy in Eastleigh, creating jobs and driving innovation. However, local businesses, including the precision manufacturing firm G. W. Martin, have told me that the increased costs as a result of the changes to employer national insurance contributions have left them with no choice but to pass those costs on to customers, making UK manufacturing less competitive globally. What concrete steps will the Government take to help businesses in Eastleigh?

[Emma Reynolds]

Half of small businesses will not be affected by the employer national insurance increase, as the hon. Member will know. We will also be setting out a small business strategy in the Government’s plan to support those businesses across the UK later this year.

[Catherine Fookes]

As the Minister knows, I am delighted with the spending review’s investment in Welsh rail of £445 million. It shows the power of two Labour Governments working together and corrects years of underfunding from the Tories. This investment in Welsh communities and Welsh business is extremely welcome and it will be a brilliant driver of our Government’s mission for economic growth. Will she outline what steps she is taking with other Departments to ensure that rural economies and market towns such as Monmouth, Abergavenny, Caldicot and Chepstow, and small businesses across Monmouthshire, can be helped to thrive and contribute to that growth mission?

[Emma Reynolds]

I welcome what my hon. Friend said. The Government are supporting the rural economy with over £2.7 billion a year for sustainable farming and nature recovery. We are investing £1.9 billion to improve digital connectivity, which will be important to the small businesses and others that she mentioned. As I said to the previous question, we will set out a small business strategy later this year.

[Cameron Thomas]

North Gloucestershire is ready to jump-start economic growth, with its existing advanced engineering and defence industries ready to drive the UK toward economic and defence objectives. Babcock, GE Aerospace, Moog and Safran are already developing world-leading technologies, and the Garden Town project includes a further 100 hectares of employment area. Will the Minister join me in Gloucestershire so we can demonstrate this expertise and the potential for growth on the ground?

[Emma Reynolds]

Defence companies are an incredibly important part of the economy, and the hon. Member will know that we are increasing defence spending to up to 2.6% by the end of this Parliament. It has only ever reached those levels before under a Labour Government.

[Max Wilkinson]

The industrial strategy was right to highlight the potential for the National Cyber Innovation Centre in my constituency. If we are going to deliver that, we will need to make sure that junction 10 of the M5 is also done to enable the traffic to get around that development. This is a development of national importance. The strategic sites accelerator has also been cited by the Government. Can the Minister advise me on how areas like Liberal Democrat-run Cheltenham and Gloucestershire can access that fund?

[Emma Reynolds]

I will ensure that the hon. Member gets a meeting with the relevant Transport Minister, but I hope that he is as excited as I am about the £1 billion that we are investing in the state-of-the-art Golden Valley development, which will create 12,000 high-skilled jobs and 3,700 new homes, and is close to the GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham. I am sure that that is something he will welcome.

[Jo White (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that the new Green Book with its proposals on place-based analysis will mean that left-behind places like mine will start to get the infrastructure investment that they so desperately need?

[Emma Reynolds]

We pledged to reform the Green Book, and we are doing precisely that, alongside the spending review. We recognise the strategic importance of investment in every part of the country. We want to realise the growth potential of places like the one my hon. Friend represents—she is a doughty champion for her constituency.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

After years of unfunded and undelivered promises from the Conservatives on levelling up, places like Rochdale are finally getting the fairer share of money that they really deserve. The Minister expanded a little on the Green Book, but could she outline how its place-based approach will help places like mine and advanced manufacturing in the Atom Valley?

[Emma Reynolds]

As my hon. Friend will know, we launched funding of £15.6 billion for transport for city regions in his constituency. I am pleased that this Government recognise the potential of places like the one he represents. We are going to unlock that regional growth across the north and in other parts of the country.

[Mr Speaker]

I will just make the point again that we are a long way from Eastleigh; I do not understand how the questions are grouped in this way. Other people listed on the Order Paper are being left behind and are missing out as a result.

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[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

12. What fiscal steps she is taking to help increase growth in rural areas.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

The Government have committed £2.7 billion per year to support sustainable farming and nature recovery, supporting the rural economy. We have also confirmed investment of £1.9 billion over four years into digital connectivity as well as £2.3 billion of local government transport funding for smaller cities, towns and rural areas.

[Rachel Gilmour]

While I welcome the Government’s rural growth plans, I am concerned about the persistent poverty in many rural areas. The additional costs of living in these communities—known as the rural premium—exacerbate hardship. What specific steps will the Chancellor take to support those in, or near, poverty in rural areas, and will the Treasury commit to revising the indices of multiple deprivation to more accurately reflect deprivation in rural and coastal communities, such as west Somerset and mid Devon?

[Emma Reynolds]

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will be coming forward with further details of funding for the 350 most deprived communities across the country, including rural areas.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

As one of the most deprived regions of northern Europe, Cornwall benefited from objective 1 structural and sustained prosperity fund funding. Can the Minister confirm that, under this Government, Cornwall will not lose out on funding for economic growth and the investment that our communities deserve?

[Emma Reynolds]

We are supporting growth across the country, and we will publish further details of how we will do that in the coming weeks.

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

13. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 10-year infrastructure strategy on economic growth.

--- Later in debate ---

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

T6. Towns in my constituency, such as Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, have lost access to bank branches—Prudhoe lost its Lloyds branch in May—and Hexham is due to lose two branches in November. The closures have had a huge impact on customers and communities, but the guidance on banking hubs is often too restrictive. Will my hon. Friend meet me to discuss how we can support financial inclusion in Tyne valley, in the Hexham constituency and beyond?

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

We understand the importance of in-person banking, in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere, which is why we secured a commitment from the industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the United Kingdom. I am leading the work on a financial inclusion strategy, which we will publish later in the year and which emphasises the importance of access to banking, and I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Economic Secretary is reviewing the work of the Financial Ombudsman Service. We on the Treasury Committee recognise that there have been challenges with the service, but how will she make sure that the consumer voice is central to her review?

[Emma Reynolds]

I have had meetings with Which? and other consumer representatives. I reassure my hon. Friend that we are reviewing FOS. We want to make sure that it is a simple, impartial dispute resolution service that quickly and effectively deals with complainants so that consumers can get a fair deal, but that financial services firms are not subject to a quasi-regulator in the way they are at the moment.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

T9. Following the Pensions Minister’s response to me about pensioner living standards, what specific measures announced in the Government’s pensions reforms will support pre-1997 defined benefit pensioners, who currently receive a minimal or no annual uplift?

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[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

As people are living longer, they face more complex financial choices. The new, simplified advice regime announced by the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority yesterday is hugely welcome and will help more people make better informed investment decisions. Will the Minister provide more detail on the steps the Government will be taking to help firms deliver better advice at scale, especially to young people and the self-employed?

[Emma Reynolds]

We are really excited about targeted support, because it means that firms will be able to make suggestions to consumers with similarities, so that they have the confidence to invest in the long term and can get better support—not advice—on their pensions.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

Further to that answer, will the Minister confirm that one of the regulatory barriers in that area are privacy and electronic communications regulations, which prevent firms from proactively reaching out to customers to offer targeted support? As part of the review, will she ensure that that specific regulatory change is made, so that that can happen?

[Emma Reynolds]

I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we are looking at that. We will make sure that firms can take advantage of suggesting targeted support to their consumers so that they are better off, can make more of their money and get a better pension, too.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

Some 58% of investors think it is important that stocks and shares ISAs are invested in UK companies. Currently, it is estimated that £100 billion is held in the cash ISAs of people who do not have stocks and shares ISAs. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to encourage further investment in UK stocks and shares, and investment in UK companies?

[Emma Reynolds]

As we set out at the spring statement, we are looking at the balance between investments in cash and investments in stocks and shares in ISAs. We want to get that balance right. We understand the importance of a rainy day buffer in cash, but we need to give people the confidence to invest. That is a win-win: it is a win for them and a win for British companies listed on our stock exchange.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Jackie from Street suffers with Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia and mental health issues. She worked for most of her life until ill health made it impossible. Under the reforms, she will lose her entitlement to personal independence payment and employment and support allowance, plunging her into poverty. Can the Chancellor give Jackie the reassurance she needs that she will not be left in poverty?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

Last week, ahead of the launch of its ethnicity code, the Lending Standards Board announced it would be closing, following the withdrawal of support from major high street banks. This was going to be a groundbreaking step towards tackling the barriers that ethnic minority business owners face in accessing finance. What steps will the Government take to ensure that the ethnicity code is implemented, supported and scaled, so that its principles are embedded across the financial sector?

[Emma Reynolds]

I am aware of the situation. I reassure the hon. Lady that the Government are committed to ensuring that firms continue to deliver good customer outcomes, now and in the future, with proportionate regulation and oversight. I am happy to engage with her in more detail on the subject she mentions.