Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his officials have had with the EU Commission on reform of the third country equivalence regime.

My officials and I engage regularly with EU counterparts and the European Commission in the course of ongoing EU business, including in relation to the third country equivalence regime where it is affected by current legislative proposals. We are clear that we expect inclusion of financial services in the future economic partnership with the EU and that the current regime would not be suitable for the volume of trade that exists between us.