Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s financial sanctions regime.

The Government undertakes extensive assessment of the effectiveness of the sanction regimes, which are eroding Russia’s financial base.

The UK has sanctioned 28 Russian banks covering over 80% of Russia’s banking sector, frozen £18bn of Russian assets and implemented unprecedented trade sanctions, including sanctioning over £20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade compared to 2021.

We have worked in close coordination with international partners to deliver an unprecedented package of sanctions. Sanctions imposed by the G7+ on Russian oil – including the Oil Price Cap - have constrained Russian revenues from their most lucrative export. Oil export revenues for May are down 36% year on year.

Over 60% of Putin’s ‘war chest’ foreign reserves have been immobilised. Russia suffered an annual deficit of $47bn in 2022, the second highest of the post-Soviet era. Additionally in 2023 Russia exceeded its forecast 2% federal budget deficit by April.