Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to measure the impact of the Financial Inclusion Strategy in supporting the credit union sector.

The Government recognises the value that credit unions bring to their members and their key role in supporting financial inclusion, particularly through the provision of savings products and affordable credit.

I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy last month which sets out a range of ambitious measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience across the UK. This includes interventions to support the credit union sector scale and serve its members more effectively, through the launch of a new £30 million transformation fund for credit unions in England and growth-focused reforms to the common bond to support the growth of credit unions in Great Britain.

We have engaged closely with a range of stakeholders, including credit union sector representatives, to develop the Strategy, and will continue to do so to ensure it has a meaningful impact. The Strategy’s implementation will be reviewed in two years’ time to provide an update on progress and relevant outcomes-based metrics.