Committee publication · Correspondence · 24 June 2026
Correspondence from Economic Secretary to the Treasury on follow-up to Financial Inclusion session, dated 22 June 2026
From: Treasury Committee
Inquiry: Financial Inclusion Strategy
Summary
Economic Secretary Rachel Blake responds to Treasury Committee questions about the Financial Inclusion Strategy discussed on 9 June 2026. She details how consumer voices inform strategy development through a Financial Inclusion Committee established December 2024, engagement with over 100 organisations including debt advisers and mental health groups, and mechanisms like the Inclusive Design Working Group. She confirms her personal responsibility for delivery, with Matt Cornford as Senior Responsible Officer, and corrects the record on FCA Financial Lives Survey geographic scope.
Key findings
- Financial Inclusion Committee comprises consumer representatives, public bodies, and industry partners; recently added Sam Smethers (CEO, Surviving Economic Abuse) and Will Sandbrook (Nest Insight) to strengthen consumer and lived-experience voices
- Treasury engaged over 100 organisations during strategy development, including nationwide campaigns and community debt advisers; strategy commits £15 million through Fair4All Finance for ringfenced financial capability funding directly requested by consumers
- Strategy incorporates lived experience through dedicated Financial Inclusion Committee sessions, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute's Lived Experience Research Community, Cabinet Office Disability Regional Stakeholder Network, and FCA engagement with Surviving Economic Abuse's Experts by Experience Group
- Inclusive Design Working Group launched with consumer submissions; roadmap to delivery planned before end of year with second submissions window opening early 2027 to address accessibility issues
- Economic Secretary Blake assumes personal responsibility for delivery; Matt Cornford (Director of Financial Services) is Senior Responsible Officer; Delivery Partners Forum convenes quarterly with Money and Pensions Service, Fair4All Finance, FCA, UK Finance, and Association of British Insurers
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Rachel Blake MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Dame Meg Hillier MP, Treasury Select Committee Chair, Matt Cornford, Director of Financial Services, Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, Financial Inclusion Committee, Money and Pensions Service, Fair4All Finance, Financial Conduct Authority
Notable line
“As Economic Secretary, I am responsible for the delivery of the Financial Inclusion Strategy and am happy to discuss its progress with the Treasury Select Committee as it is implemented.”
Key Quotes
“My predecessors and HM Treasury officials engaged extensively with consumer organisations during its development and my intention that this is strengthened as we move to implementation.”
“Beyond the Financial Inclusion Committee, HM Treasury engaged with over 100 organisations to inform the Strategy's development, including a significant number of organisations that represent or support consumers.”
“Where consumer representatives identified gaps with known solutions, the Strategy responds directly. For example, consumer organisations were clear about the need for ringfenced financial capability funding, and the Strategy commits £15 million through Fair4All Finance to support that work.”
“The Financial Inclusion Committee will remain a senior forum for this, bringing together consumer organisations and industry representatives tasked with delivery to test whether interventions are working as intended, identify emerging barriers, and consider where further action may be needed.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗