Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report published by Lloyds Bank entitled Black. British. In Business & Proud, what steps he is taking to increase (a) cultural awareness and (b) Black representation in the banking sector.

On 17 March, the Government published “Inclusive Britain” in response to the independent report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, setting out a ground-breaking action plan to tackle negative disparities, promote unity and build a fairer Britain for all. The Government has responded in detail to each of the Commission’s 24 recommendations from its report. In some cases, The Government’s response has gone further than the report envisaged, to ensure that our action plan is as wide-reaching as possible and builds a fairer and more inclusive society in the long-term.

The Government is very supportive of the Race At Work Charter, which over 100 financial services firms have already signed up to. The Charter commits firms that sign up to take practical steps to tackle barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression.

We are also supporting entrepreneurs through the Start-Up Loans scheme, which offers businesses 12 months of free mentoring. Of all loans issued up to December 2021, 20% went to Asian people, Black people, or people from other Ethnic Minorities (excluding White minorities). At the end of December 2021, the programme had delivered more than 90,000 loans, providing more than £819m of funding to entrepreneurs.

In March 2021, the Parker Review published statistics showing that significant progress has been made on improving ethnic diversity of UK boards, with 89 out of 100 FTSE 100 companies reporting they had appointed a director from a minority ethnic group.

The Treasury remains committed to supporting individuals and businesses of all backgrounds to access the finance they need and continues to engage with the private sector and other government departments including BEIS and Cabinet Office on this important issue.