Written questions by Anderson.

What monitoring arrangements will be put in place to evaluate the impact of common bond reforms on financial inclusion outcomes.

The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector. On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by: Increasing the potential membership cap on the locality bond from 3 million to 10 million, which will significantly expand the potential size of locality-based credit unions, which make up 79% of the sector, and reduce uncertainty around merger activity.Allowing credit unions to admit students to locality-based credit unions, if not otherwise eligible through residence or work.Expanding eligibility for members' relatives to allow credit unions to admit relatives of qualifying members regardless of whether they share a household.Allowing credit unions to retain retired members as fully qualifying members. The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK. The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms. The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.

What analysis she has undertaken of the potential impact of extending membership eligibility to students on credit union balance sheets.

The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector. On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by: Increasing the potential membership cap on the locality bond from 3 million to 10 million, which will significantly expand the potential size of locality-based credit unions, which make up 79% of the sector, and reduce uncertainty around merger activity.Allowing credit unions to admit students to locality-based credit unions, if not otherwise eligible through residence or work.Expanding eligibility for members' relatives to allow credit unions to admit relatives of qualifying members regardless of whether they share a household.Allowing credit unions to retain retired members as fully qualifying members. The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK. The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms. The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of proposed common bond reforms on levels of access to credit union services in (i) Milton Keynes and (ii) Buckinghamshire.

The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions, and is working to support its growth in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector. On 18 March, the government announced plans to reform the credit union common bond by: Increasing the potential membership cap on the locality bond from 3 million to 10 million, which will significantly expand the potential size of locality-based credit unions, which make up 79% of the sector, and reduce uncertainty around merger activity.Allowing credit unions to admit students to locality-based credit unions, if not otherwise eligible through residence or work.Expanding eligibility for members' relatives to allow credit unions to admit relatives of qualifying members regardless of whether they share a household.Allowing credit unions to retain retired members as fully qualifying members. The reforms will apply across Great Britain, including in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. Full details of the government’s plans have been published in a call for evidence response available on GOV.UK. The government will legislate to give effect to these reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the legislative reforms. The reforms to the credit union common bond form part of a broader package of measures to support improved access to financial products and services under the Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy itself will be reviewed two years after publication to assess its overall progress.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in levels of UK-EU alignment on UK labour markets.

Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices. Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.

What sectors have been identified as priorities for UK–EU alignment under the growth plan.

Alignment will be an iterative process and decisions will be based on the national interest principles set out by the Chancellor on 17 March. This means a decision to align will be made if:- It promotes higher growth, investment, consumer benefits, and jobs for the long-term- The future direction of policy is sufficiently stable and compatible, in terms of values and objectives- The UK’s economic and national security and resilience is preserved or enhanced.The Government is currently negotiating an agrifood deal that could add up to £5.1 billion a year to our economy and increase agricultural exports to the EU by 16 per cent.

What steps HM Treasury is taking to ensure regulatory co-operation with Spain supports UK-based exporters.

This Government is committed to a deep and enduring partnership with Spain – a partnership which we were pleased to strengthen through agreeing a strategic bilateral framework in September. This Government is also committed to supporting British businesses exporting to Spain and other European markets. During the Chancellor’s recent visit to Madrid, we agreed practical steps with Spain to make it easier for UK services professionals to travel to Spain, which could be worth around £250 million in additional UK services exports over five years. This Government recognises the strategic imperative for deeper integration between the UK and EU – which shapes much of Spain’s regulatory regime – to strengthen resilience in the economy and stabilise trading conditions for businesses. As the Chancellor set out in her Mais lecture on 17 March, we will pursue an enhanced partnership with the EU to strengthen supply chains and reduce unnecessary frictions for businesses operating in European markets. This will include closer alignment with EU regulation where it is in the UK’s national interest. The Government is also strengthening engagement with business on EU regulatory issues, and we are exploring how the UK and EU can work together more effectively on shared ambitions to reduce administrative burdens on business, consistent with the UK commitment to cut the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by the end of this Parliament.

What measures are in place to ensure value for money in joint defence financing arrangements with Finland and the Netherlands.

Last week the Chancellor announced that the UK is exploring a new defence mechanism for financing driving joint demand by 2027 with the Netherlands and Finland and other EU and NATO partners. This is still in development with partners and will follow best international practice and relevant HM Government Guidance, including Managing Public Money.

What assessment she has made of the fiscal implications of joint defence financing arrangements with Finland and the Netherlands.

Last week the Chancellor announced that the UK is exploring a new defence mechanism for financing driving joint demand by 2027 with the Netherlands and Finland and other EU and NATO partners. This is still in development with partners and will follow best international practice and relevant HM Government Guidance, including Managing Public Money.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in regulatory alignment with the EU on economic growth in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices. Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.

What analysis HM Treasury has undertaken on the potential effect of UK–EU alignment measures on levels of UK competitiveness.

Integrated markets tend to be more competitive. Businesses typically respond by becoming more innovative and efficient, workers gain from higher productivity, allowing wages to rise, and consumers gain from lower prices. Leaving the EU increased costs for businesses and consumers, shrank markets for UK exporters, and left our strategic industries exposed. Since March 2020, the OBR has maintained its estimate that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. Recent independent studies indicate its GDP impacts could be as much as 6% to 8%.Aligning UK and EU regulations can reduce some of these frictions, enlarging the market for UK firms, supporting growth in trade and the jobs linked to it.

What estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service on complaint resolution times.

On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS. The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms. This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service on small financial firms.

On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS. The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms. This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms on consumers in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS. The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms. This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.

If she will assess the potential impact of her debt management policies on pension funds.

Consistent with the debt management objective, the government assesses a range of cost and risk factors when setting its financing plans, in addition to demand considerations and market conditions. HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office regularly consult with gilt market investors, including pension funds, to provide participants with the opportunity to inform decisions on debt management. The gilt holdings of pension funds will decline in the coming years as most private sector defined benefit pension schemes are closed to new members and will eventually wind down. This trend is well understood by the market – and it remains an important consideration when setting debt management policy. This was reflected in the 2026-27 UK Debt Management Office financing remit, which was announced on 3 March. The remit sets out a balanced and well-diversified gilt issuance programme across the range of maturities, in order to support maintaining an accessible, well-functioning gilt market.

What proportion of government debt over each of the past five financial years has been held by (a) domestic investors and (b) overseas investors.

The ONS publishes estimates of holdings of government debt by sector. The latest available data, as at end 2025 Q3, splits holdings by overseas and domestic investors. ONS data shows a split of holdings between overseas and domestic investors of 28% and 72% respectively in 2021 Q3 and 33% and 67% respectively in 2025 Q3.

How her Department tracks the exposure of financial institutions to UK sovereign debt.

The ONS publishes estimates of holdings of government debt by sector. The latest available data, as at end 2025 Q3, can be found here - UK Economic Accounts - Office for National Statistics - via the July to September 2025 dataset. HMT works closely with the Bank of England (“the Bank”), including through its membership of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC), to monitor and manage risks to UK financial stability, including any risks that may occur from the exposure of financial institutions to UK sovereign debt. As part of this the FPC conducts regular stress tests of the banking sector, which assess how banks’ capital and liquidity would withstand a severe macroeconomic shock, ensuring institutions are able to continue to provide core financial services through severe economic shocks which may impact the value of their UK sovereign debt holdings. You can read more about the Bank’s approach to stress testing and the results of the latest stress tests here. We also work closely with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which supervises individual firms, to understand the risks arising from those individual firms exposure to UK sovereign debt and ensure that these are managed prudently within the regulatory framework. You can read more about the supervision of financial institutions here. In 2024, the Bank conducted a world first System‑Wide Exploratory Scenario (SWES), to explore how a broad range of financial institutions (including banks, insurers, pension funds and other non‑bank financial intermediaries) would respond to a severe market shock. The 2024 SWES focused on the functioning and resilience of key markets such as the gilt and gilt repo markets. It sought to understand the behaviour of firms in stress, and how market dynamics can amplify a shock. The Bank’s final report found that actions following previous market shocks have improved gilt market resilience, with the broader financial system showing an improved ability to absorb large price swings in assets, including sovereign bonds, while also highlighting areas for further policy work. You can see the final report from the SWES here. Taken together these actions – HMTs work with the FPC, regular bank stress tests, PRA supervision, insights from the SWES and ongoing monitoring – ensure that risks arising from financial institutions exposures to UK sovereign debt are well understood and effectively managed.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of business support for financial mutuals.

The government is committed to supporting the growth of financial mutuals in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutuals sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which HM Treasury is now delivering. This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This was published in December 2025 and included measures to support the development of financial mutuals, including the FCA’s establishment of their Mutual Societies Development Unit. The government also welcomed the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council and published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector. For credit unions specifically, the government announced it is pursuing growth-focused reforms to the common bond in Great Britain. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2025 and followed a call for evidence on reforms. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to reform credit union common bond rules.

The government is committed to supporting the growth of financial mutuals in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutuals sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which HM Treasury is now delivering. This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This was published in December 2025 and included measures to support the development of financial mutuals, including the FCA’s establishment of their Mutual Societies Development Unit. The government also welcomed the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council and published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector. For credit unions specifically, the government announced it is pursuing growth-focused reforms to the common bond in Great Britain. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2025 and followed a call for evidence on reforms. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to support the growth of co-operatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The government recognises the contribution co-operatives make to local communities, to a diverse business sector and a resilient UK economy. In line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operatives and mutuals sector, HM Treasury is taking steps to support the growth nationwide, including in Buckingham and Bletchley. This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which is exploring options to modernise and update the legislative framework. The review is expected to report in 2026 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding. At Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures to support the growth of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape. These reports were published in December 2025, and covered co-operatives through the FCA’s role as registering authority. HM Treasury works with other Government departments on support for co-operatives. This includes on the Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on business support for co-operatives, which was launched at Budget 2025 and closed in February 2026. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government has announced the launch of a co-operative development unit as part of its Pride in Place Strategy. Together, these actions will help support the growth of the co-operative sector in across the UK.

What steps she is taking to help ensure regulatory co-operation with China does not impact on UK standards in financial supervision.

The agreements reached at the first UK‑China Financial Working Group in Beijing will strengthen cooperation with China in ways that support the UK’s position as an open, competitive and well‑regulated international financial centre, supporting jobs and growth in the UK. As set out in HM Treasury’s press release and the joint readout of the first UK-China Financial Working Group meeting (FWG), the FWG provides a new formal mechanism for structured, substantive and technical dialogue between UK and Chinese financial authorities on issues including financial stability and resilience, capital markets, market development and sustainable finance. Specific outcomes include the designation of Bank of China’s London Branch as the UK’s second renminbi (RMB) clearing bank, which will broaden the range of services available to UK businesses trading with China and strengthen London’s role as a leading international financial centre. Technical discussions were also held on long-term initiatives to support the UK’s capital markets, as well as green finance and asset management sectors. Alongside the FWG and the Prime Minister’s visit, the UK and China also agreed to pursue new cooperation on innovative financing, such as RMB-denominated sovereign biodiversity bond issuances, cementing the City's role as the global hub for green finance.