Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has taken steps to review the corpus of retained EU law, other UK regulations and potential new financial services regulations, for the purposes of improving UK competitiveness; and what steps he is taking to ensure that any such new regulations and legislative changes are introduced in a timely manner.

In his Mansion House statement last July, the Chancellor set out the Government’s vision for an open, competitive, green, and technologically advanced financial services sector. A sweeping set of reforms to sharpen the UK’s competitive advantage in financial services is already underway.

In November, the Government published the second consultation in its Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review. This provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that, having left the EU, the UK establishes a coherent, agile, and internationally respected approach to financial services regulation that is right for the UK. This includes proposals to repeal a significant volume of retained EU law relating to financial services, so that the financial services regulators can take responsibility for making the appropriate rules in these areas.

As set out in the recent publication, The Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU, the Government is actively seeking out opportunities to tailor the regulation of our financial services sector, within the new framework the FRF Review will deliver, through measures including:

• A ground-breaking Mutual Recognition Agreement with Switzerland.
• Reforming our capital markets through the Wholesale Markets Review and Prospectus Regime Review.
• Establishing a new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology.
• Becoming the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre.