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UK PARLIAMENT · SITTING

John Glen

MP for Salisbury · Conservative · United Kingdom

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

I welcome the Chief Secretary to her new position, but what words of comfort could she give the residents of Salisbury in Wiltshire, a unitary authority? We are not part of a combined authority and we do not have a metro mayor.

REGIONAL FUNDING · 2026-09-08 · READ IN HANSARD

Sam Moody is my constituent. He is the chief executive of Rockhopper. During my time in this House, he has been absolutely scrupulous in following the laws of this country and respecting the Falkland Islanders.

FALKLAND ISLANDS: SOVEREIGNTY · 2026-09-08 · READ IN HANSARD

I listened carefully to what the Minister said about the process, and I respect that. But most people who take a pretty level-headed, pragmatic view of the need for a transition over time still cannot get their heads around the short-term reality: when we have so much turmoil in the middle east, why would we extend the time that we are no…

JACKDAW AND ROSEBANK OIL AND GAS FIELDS · 2026-09-03 · READ IN HANSARD

It is 55 days till the Budget. Given the market’s reaction to the Prime Minister’s statement on Tuesday, and given that our gilt rates are higher than those of our peers in the G7, could we have a debate on the implications of higher taxes for growth?

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE · 2026-09-03 · READ IN HANSARD

Before the hon. Lady makes her statement on Thursday, will she, when reflecting on the arrangement in Wiltshire that would embrace Wessex—although we have been told that that is not the Government’s view—address the prevailing concern that the people of rural Wiltshire will be considerably worse off without having the opportunity to embra…

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION · 2026-07-13 · READ IN HANSARD

I recognise that the Minister wants to come to what the Government are going to do, but does he not accept that the decisions already made in the last two years—with respect to the price of employment and the national living wage, the cost of employment with regard to legislation, and business rates—have depressed the appetite of many sma…

SUMMER JOBS · 2026-07-07 · READ IN HANSARD

The complete record

Every one of 5,915 lines we hold for John Glen, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 44 of 119.

  1. Gentleman made some observations about the prerogative of Government over mandating Parliament and Select Committee creation. I think we are some way away from that. We want to do these things collaboratively and end up with something that is fit for purpose, and I recognise the comments he made about the resourcing of such Committees with respect to the role they would play. I do believe that this scrutiny process, as set out in the Bill, is extensive, and, for the reasons I have given, I again regret that I must ask the right hon. Gentleman to withdraw this amendment.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  2. Gentleman made concerning the document that was published a month ago on the future regulatory framework, and to address the supposition he very courteously made that, somehow, the Government believed that everything was fine and little needed to change. The purpose of this extensive consultation is to do what it says: to consult broadly to ensure that, through that process, the views of industry, regulators and all interested parties and consumer groups are fully involved, such that, when we then move to the next stage of that process—I would envisage making some more definitive proposals—it would meet expectations on a broader and enduring basis. This Bill is about some specific measures that, as I explained earlier this morning, we need to take with an accountability framework in place, but I do not rule out any outcome. The right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  3. The FCA and the PRA both have statutory minimum time periods for consultation and will take time to factor in responses to consultation—so this is not a meaningless process—providing a more than reasonable window within which the Committee can engage the regulators on the substance of the rules, should it desire to. The Government agree that Parliament should play an important strategic role in interrogating, debating and testing the overall direction of policy for financial services, while allowing the regulators to set the detailed rules for which they hold expertise. Before I conclude, I would like to address the point the right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  4. That could bring a great deal of uncertainty to firms on what the rules would look like and when they would be introduced. That makes it more difficult for these firms to prepare appropriately for these changes. Ultimately, there is currently nothing preventing a Select Committee, from either House, from reviewing the FCA’s rules at consultation, taking evidence on them and reporting with recommendations. That is a decision for the Committee. My officials have discussed this amendment with the regulators, and they have agreed that they will send their consultation draft rules to the relevant Committee as soon as they are published.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  5. Gentleman, and the amendments envisage Select Committees reviewing all investment firms prudential regime and capital requirements regulation regulator rules before they can be made. Under that model, Parliament would need to routinely scrutinise a whole swathe of detailed new rules on an ongoing basis. That is very different from the model that this Parliament previously put in place for the regulators under the Financial Services and Markets Act, where it judged it appropriate for the regulators to take these detailed technical decisions—where they hold expertise—within a broader framework set by Parliament. It should not go unnoticed that, if Parliament were to scrutinise each proposed rule, the amendment does not specify a definite time period in which any Committee must express its view on them.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  6. In return for delegating responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority, this Bill requires it, under proposed new clause 143G of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to publish an explanation of the purpose of its draft rules and of how the matters to which it is obliged to have regard have influenced the drafting of the rules. The Bill introduces a similar requirement for the Prudential Regulation Authority, under proposed new clause 144D of the Financial Services and Markets Act. These matters concern public policy priorities that we consider to be of particular interest to Parliament. I have looked carefully at the amendments proposed by the right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  7. I am very pleased to address the points raised by the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East, the hon. Member for Walthamstow and the hon. Member for Glasgow Central. I have listened carefully to what they had to say, and their remarks go to the heart of the distinction between the provisions of the Bill that we are scrutinising in Committee and the broader questions around the future scrutiny mechanism, and the necessity to ensure that we do not undermine the legitimate and appropriate scrutiny by Parliament of our regulators. It is critical that we ensure sufficient accountability around the new rules of the UK’s financial sector. Capital requirements for firms are extremely detailed and technical. It is right that we seek to utilise the expertise of the regulators to update them in line with international standards.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  8. I beg to move amendment 1, in schedule 2, page 76, line 31, leave out “143O(4), (6) or (8)” and insert “143O(3), (6) or (8)(b)” This amendment corrects a cross-reference to new provisions inserted by Part 1 of Schedule 2. This is a technical amendment that corrects a cross-reference from section 395 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to new section 143O, as proposed in schedule 2. Amendment 1 agreed to. Question proposed, That the schedule, as amended, be the Second schedule to the Bill.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  9. That is the overall framework that will allow greater scrutiny and transparency, and provide the direction the FCA will take in implementing the new regime in the UK, while rightfully leaving the detail to the experts. In the longer term, any wider deregulation will need greater debate and the proper scrutiny of Parliament. The Government intend to address that part through the future regulatory framework, as I have discussed, which is now out for consultation. I therefore recommend that that this schedule stand part of the Bill. Question put and agreed to . Schedule 2, as amended, accordingly agreed to. Clause 3 Transfer of certain prudential regulation matters into PRA rules

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  10. Consulting the Treasury ensures that the FCA has appropriate accountability for technical choices that might have an impact on firms, while recognising that the Government retain responsibility for international relations and therefore equivalence. These three considerations are those that we have deemed to be immediately pertinent to the new investment firms prudential regime today. However, as I have mentioned previously, the accountability framework is meant to reflect the changing context. That is why the Treasury will have power to add additional considerations, which would be done following discussions with the regulators and industry, and following parliamentary scrutiny.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  11. Schedule 2 requires the FCA to have regard to a list of important public policy considerations when making its rules in relation to the new investment firms regime, including any relevant international standards and the relative standing of the UK as a place for internationally active investment firms to carry on activities. To support scrutiny, the FCA will need to report publicly on how its consideration of those matters has affected its decisions on the rules in relation to the IFPR. The FCA will also have to consider the impact on financial services equivalence, both by and for the UK, and consult the Treasury on that.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  12. Member for Walthamstow are rightly concerned about consumer harm, so I draw their attention to the fact that the FCA will have to set those requirements in relation to the risks that firms pose to consumers, as well as the integrity of the financial system. The FCA will also be required to make rules for parent undertakings of investment firm groups, because appropriate regulation and supervision are as important at the group level as at the individual firm level. Parents, as heads of the group, should be held responsible for the prudent management of the group. It is right that specific rule-making responsibilities should be delegated to the FCA as an independent expert regulator, but those responsibilities must come with enhanced accountability.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  13. Investment firms have a significant role to play in enabling investors to access financial markets, but the current prudential framework that applies to FCA investment firms was made for banks, which is why we need a new bespoke investment firms prudential regime. Schedule 2 contains relevant provisions that enable the FCA to implement a tailor-made prudential regime for non-systemic investment firms. The new regime will set out new capital and liquidity requirements that will ensure that firms can wind down in an orderly way without causing harm. The right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East and the hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  14. We are resisting the amendment because in the narrow confines of what we need to achieve, with respect to the translation of these directives appropriately at the end of the transition period, that is distinct and different from an enduring solution. I look forward to her contribution to the regulatory framework review, because that will drive a meaningful discussion about how we achieve the sort of accountability that she and I want and think should be enhanced.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  15. The legislation would give it an obligation to report, but then we need meaningful scrutiny from Parliament. The challenge is based on the work that the hon. Lady did after 2010—we came into Parliament at the same time—after which there was a rapid evolution in business models and new types of things. That is why I am delighted that Chris Woolard is doing a high-cost credit review and looking at some of the areas that she is engaged in, such as buy now, pay later. He is looking at that urgently so that we do not make the mistakes of the past and do not face some of the emerging challenges, in terms of behaviours— [ Interruption. ] She smiles. I suspect that she is not completely convinced by what I am saying about the provisions.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  16. Therefore, the current provisions in the Bill, combined with those existing provisions in the Financial Services and Markets Act, already ensure that the information that Parliament is seeking will be in the public domain. The hon. Member for Walthamstow asked me to set out a vision, almost, for the conduct regulator with respect to the future operating environment. To some extent, that is deferred to the future regulatory review, but I will give her my view because this goes to the core of the future of financial services. We need an environment in which the regulator is accessible to consumer concerns. I recognise the work that she has done and the shortcomings that she perceives with the regulator’s current dynamic. We need Parliament to be at the heart of scrutinising its activities.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  17. The Bill includes provisions requiring the PRA to publicly report on how it has had regard to upholding international standards and relative standing in the UK, as well as facilitating sustainable lending. Those are in addition to the PRA’s existing statutory objectives on safety and soundness of financial institutions and its secondary competition objective, so they overlap with the areas that the amendment attempts to address. The provisions in this Bill sit alongside existing provisions in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which require the PRA to publish a cost-benefit analysis alongside its consultation on rules. That will provide Parliament and the public with the information required to scrutinise the PRA’s actions.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  18. Amendment 23 seeks to add a requirement for the Treasury to assess and report on the impact of its revocations of the capital requirements regulation on consumers, competitiveness and the economy. However, I would argue that the emphasis is in the wrong place. The Treasury will only make revocations to enable the introduction of the PRA’s rules. A stand-alone assessment of the provisions being deleted would not provide meaningful information for Parliament—it is unnecessary. Those revocations are to be subject to the draft affirmative procedure, so they will be explained to Parliament and Parliament will be able to debate their appropriateness before they are made. I agree with the principle of scrutiny, but the emphasis should be placed on the PRA’s rule making, and that is what this Bill does.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  19. In addressing this amendment, I want to start by saying that the Government are fully committed to ensuring that this greater delegation of responsibility to the regulators is accompanied by robust accountability and scrutiny mechanisms. To pick up on the point made by right hon. Gentleman about clauses 1 and 3, they amend the existing banking framework for different reasons. Clause 1 only removes FCA investment firms from the CRR. Clause 3 enables the implementation of Basel standards for the remaining firms, credit institutions and PRA investment firms by enabling the Treasury to revoke parts of the CRR that relate to Basel. That is so that the PRA can fill the space with its rules.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  20. This legislation provides the regulators with the responsibility and the reporting obligation to Parliament. What the hon. Lady has done is make an explicit relationship between conduct failure and capital requirement decisions. Decisions about the overall framework for accountability for the regulators are embedded within this Bill. The point of disagreement between us is whether there are sufficient obligations, in terms of reporting and scrutiny, for these narrow measures. We obviously disagree. I am trying to signal that, more broadly, on the wider issues of the future dynamic among Parliament, the Treasury and regulators, there is scope for significant review, and appropriately so given the changing nature of where these regulations are coming from. I do not have anything else to say.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  21. This clause is essential to the delivery of our international commitments, and I therefore commend it to the Committee.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  22. Those deletions will also be subject to the draft affirmative procedure, providing the opportunity for Parliament to scrutinise the Treasury’s actions. The clause also allows the Treasury to make consequential, supplementary and incidental deletions to parts of the CRR. This is to ensure a coherent regime across the CRR and other PRA rules, amounting to a clear prudential rulebook that industry can follow. Further, clause 3 enables the Treasury to make transitional and savings provisions to protect cliff edges from the deletion of certain provisions on the operations of a firm. This will allow the Treasury to save permissions already granted by the PRA, to modify capital requirements and avoid the need for firms to reapply for those permissions under new PRA rules where they are being replicated in the rulebook as a result of the Bill.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  23. This is the right thing to do: the PRA has the technical expertise and competence to implement these post-crisis reforms as they should be implemented. However, in delegating this responsibility, this Bill ensures that checks and balances are in place. First, clause 3 ensures that we transfer only some elements of the capital requirements regulation, or CRR, to the PRA, and that the extent of the Treasury’s powers to delete will be constrained to those areas of the CRR that are necessary to implement the Basel standards and ensure the UK upholds its international commitments. Secondly, this clause ensures that the deletions the Treasury makes take place when it is clear that adequate provision has been made by the PRA to fill the space.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  24. The 2008-09 financial crisis led to significant economic hardship. Since then, post-crisis regulatory reforms set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision have supported financial stability, which underpins our economic prosperity. We in the UK intend to uphold our international commitment to the full, timely and consistent implementation of these reforms, alongside other major jurisdictions, and clause 3 creates the space in legislation for the financial regulator—the Prudential Regulatory Authority—to implement the remaining Basel standards. Like our approach to investment firms, our intention is to delegate the responsibility of implementing these to the PRA with enhanced accountability, as I have described.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  25. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his points. On the first point about why we are deleting what we are deleting, we are deleting elements of the capital requirements regulation to the PRA so that it can implement the provisions of capital requirements II, which the EU is commencing, in the appropriate way for our firms—that is basically it. The EU is on a journey of implementing CRR II, and we need to do what is appropriate for our firms, as I have discussed.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  26. Gentleman’s remarks— I understand why—is this desire to scrutinise the appetite for a sort of ad hoc, and I do not mean to be pejorative, but almost opportunistic, divergence, when what we are trying to do is to enable the regulator to do what is appropriate for a set of entities that will not naturally conform to the enduring direction of travel of the CRR II within the EU, because of the different nature of our firms and, as we have discussed, the different treatment of capital that is appropriate, given what they are actually doing vis-à-vis banks. Secondly, he asked some detailed questions about risk weight.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  27. We have a legacy set of issues over which we have not had complete control this year that we are obliged to implement, but as we approach the end of the transition period, we have to make provision for things that actually make sense and we want to do anyway, in an appropriate way. The driver of the right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  28. The future in terms of the evolving rulebook of the EU and other jurisdictions and how we seek to do that here will be subject to the future regulatory framework. We cannot anticipate the future evolving regulatory direction of new directives that have not yet been written elsewhere. What we have to do is to build the right framework for origination of rules in the Treasury and from the regulators, with the right accountability framework in place. The problem we have conceptually in this discussion is that we are coming out of an embedded relationship in which we have auto-uploaded stuff that we have discussed, crudely, elsewhere.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  29. Gentleman and make it available for the Committee, to clarify anything that would be helpful to the Committee. Question put and agreed to. Clause 3 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 5 Prudential regulation of credit institutions etc by PRA rules Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  30. My understanding is that the licence to operate given to the PRA is to make it consistent with Basel 3.1, in the context of the evolving rules that are being implemented elsewhere, but the notion that there is a single downloadable format of the Basel 3.1 rules in every single jurisdiction is a false proposition. Every regulator in different jurisdictions will do that in different ways. It is important, therefore, that whatever decisions they come to around the specific decisions on different entities will be published and scrutinised, such that it could be justified against the international standing and the other factors that we have put in place as a meaningful accountability framework. I am probably close to the limit of my capacity to answer further on this point, but I am happy to reflect further and to write to the right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  31. I have myself checked whether there are no reporting requirements and we are entering some sort of wild west environment, but I do not think that that is the case. The amendment duplicates efforts that are already in place. Ultimately, to require the Treasury to undertake such an assessment would undermine this delegation and the regulator’s independence. I therefore ask the right hon. Gentleman not to move the amendment.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  32. I respectfully contend that this additional annual reporting requirement is not necessary, because through the Bill the PRA will also be required to publish a summary of the purpose of the rules it makes when implementing the Basel standards and an explanation of how it has complied with its reporting duties. Furthermore, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 already requires the PRA to make an annual report to the Chancellor on its activities, including on the extent to which its objectives have been advanced and how it considered existing regulatory principles in discharging its functions. The Chancellor must lay that report before Parliament. I therefore question whether the proposed review would really provide much more insight than what the current reporting arrangements already achieve.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  33. New clause 1 seeks to add an annual reporting requirement, as the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East said, for the Government to carry out and publish a review of PRA rules that implement the Basel standards, including an assessment of the impact of changes to the rules on consumers, competitiveness and the wider economy. The Bill will require the PRA to demonstrate how it has regard to several considerations: the international standards that it seeks to implement, the relative standing of the UK and the ability to finance businesses and consumers sustainably. However, I regret that the amendment has the potential to duplicate the PRA’s reporting duties.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  34. The regime is already split in this way to an extent, with some rules for firms set directly by regulators and others contained in retained EU law or law that has originated in this Parliament, and it will continue to work in this way. However, we will seek to ensure that this is done as effectively as possible through clause 5. Clause 5 ensures that cross-references between legislation and PRA rules work properly on an ongoing basis. It also requires the PRA to publish an explanatory document outlining how it all fits together. Finally, the clause introduces schedule 3, which contains further detail to ensure that the regime works. As the elements contained in the clause help to ensure a workable framework for the UK to remain Basel-compliant, I recommend that the clause stand part of the Bill.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  35. I really respect the right hon. Gentleman’s approach to this. It is very constructive. I accept his frustration with what I am saying, but I do respect his patience with me through this process. Each time, I will try to justify what we are doing. This Bill enables the implementation, as the right hon. Gentleman understands, of the Basel standards. That will be done by deletion of parts of the capital requirements regulation that need to be updated, so that the PRA can make those Basel updates in their rules. As a result, we will see a split in this prudential regime, perhaps temporarily, depending on the end result of the future regulatory framework across legislation and regulatory rules.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  36. Member for Glasgow Central that subsections (1)(b) and (2) of proposed new section 144C to the 2000 Act requires the PRA to “consider the United Kingdom’s standing in relation to the other countries and territories” that could affect where international firms “are most likely to choose to be based or carry on activities.” I believe that that is adequate to address the concerns that have been raised.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  37. As I have said, the UK is committed to maintaining its high standards. We heard during evidence sessions last week that these high standards will not hinder the UK’s ambition to remain an attractive place to carry out business. None the less, the Government want to ensure that our regulators have specific regard to these ambitions, particularly for international businesses, which bring jobs and innovation and, I believe, improve our economic prospects and prosperity. The amendment aims to ensure that that is the case, and I welcome the intention, but I reassure the Committee that the Bill as drafted will deliver that. I highlight in particular to the hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  38. The power proposed in the amendment goes further, allowing the Treasury to amend the list, including removing matters from it. It is not clear to me why the Treasury should ever remove, for example, the requirement for the PRA to have regard to the Basel standards. Such matters are immediately pertinent to the prudential regime and would have been agreed by Parliament through the Bill process. Therefore, the existing provisions in the accountability framework already appear to achieve the aims intended in the amendment in the best way possible and, as such, do not need to change. For those reasons, I regret to ask the right hon. Gentleman to withdraw the amendment.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  39. However, in the current context, it would be inappropriate to ask the PRA to report on an Act of Parliament given that the Bill already includes a more appropriate reporting requirement for the PRA, as set out in proposed new section 144D, that is adapted for the CRR rules. That requirement is to publish an explanation of how the matters in the accountability framework have impacted on the PRA’s rules whenever it consults on and publishes final rules to implement Basel. That will directly attend to the logic and rationale for what it has done. The amendment would also add a new power for the Treasury in relation to the accountability framework. The Treasury already has a similar power in the Bill to add additional matters for the PRA to consider.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  40. By 1 January 2023, the bulk of Basel-related rules made as a result of the Bill should therefore already be published. The accountability framework that the Bill introduces for the PRA to make rules to meet Basel requirements relates only to the implementation of the specific so-called Basel 3.1 rules and does not relate to the ongoing prudential regulation of financial service firms that is being considered by the future regulatory framework review. The review is consulting on the important split of responsibilities between Parliament, Government and the regulators now that the UK has left the EU. Reflecting the wisdom of the right hon. Gentleman with respect to the value of reviews, in that context a five-year review would clearly be appropriate.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  41. On a human level, I have found this process quite challenging, because my instincts are to try to accommodate the right hon. Gentleman when he sounds so reasonable and plausible. The amendment seeks to introduce a requirement to review the PRA’s accountability framework for Basel implementation and, as he said, it would require the PRA to conduct a review every five years, which is the least demanding of his requests today. It is right to ensure that the accountability framework is fit for purpose and up to date. Indeed, that is one of the aims that we want to achieve through the Bill: flexible and agile regulation. The Bill’s purpose is to enable the implementation of the Basel standards, and the international deadline for Basel 3.1 reforms is 1 January 2023.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  42. I am straining to be positive and constructive in my engagement with the right hon. Gentleman.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  43. Those rules will have regard to future Basels. The reporting mechanism we have and the accountability to Parliament when those rules are published is more immediate and comprehensive. My contention is that a five-year provision would be out of date because we would have done it by then. That is why I am apprehensive about the right hon. Gentleman’s suggestion. However, within the context of the future regulatory review—I cannot be bound on the outcome of that, because it is genuinely consultative—and what would be the appropriate reporting, there is a difference between short-term reporting on a particular measure or decision and a more fundamental review of the strategic dynamics of the relationship between the regulators, which we have seen evolve over decades. On the principle, there may be the need to have something like that.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  44. Clause 6 Power to amend the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  45. I beg to move amendment 2, in schedule 3, page 84, line 19, leave out paragraph (b) and insert— “(b) section 144D (explanation to accompany consultation on rules); (c) section 144E(1) and (4) to (7) (exceptions from sections 144C and 144D).” This amendment corrects the explanatory words in a list of provisions that apply to section 192XA rules that are not CRR rules. This technical amendment corrects a reference to words contained in parentheses to make it clear that those words apply only to proposed new section 144D to the 2000 Act, and it adds the correct words in parentheses to the references in proposed new section 144E. The words in parentheses explain the scope of the clause. Amendment 2 agreed to. Schedule 3, as amended, agreed to.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  46. Therefore, the clause gives the Treasury a power to amend the CRA regulation while requiring it to consider the Basel standards when that power is exercised. That confirms our intention to use the power only to implement changes stemming from Basel. The changes to the CRA regulation will help to ensure that the UK is fully Basel-compliant.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  47. The Basel standards include rules relating to credit assessments—also called external ratings—which some firms use to assign risk ratings. Risk ratings are used to determine the minimum amount of capital that must be maintained by a firm, and the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East has already drawn attention to this matter. In the UK, credit ratings agencies, or CRAs, that issue credit assessments are regulated by the credit ratings agencies regulation, and the changes needed to the CRA regulation to implement Basel are minor. Consistent with the 1 January 2023 international deadline, however, the PRA has yet to issue its rules implementing the Basel 3.1 reforms, and it makes sense to consider changes to the CRA regulation as part of the wider 3.1 package of changes.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  48. Gentleman to give more clarity, and I am happy to address the issue at further stages in the Bill’s passage. Question put and agreed to. Clause 6 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 7 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 4 Amendments of the Capital Requirements Regulation

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  49. The power in clause 6 safeguards that intent as it requires the Treasury to have regard to the standards rather than making other amendments for unrelated reasons. In terms of the other limited changes made in schedule 4 as part of the implementation of the UK regime equivalent to the EU’s second capital requirements regulation, they again relate to earlier Basel III standards. I do not think I can answer with enough specificity to do justice to the right hon. Gentleman, so I think I will need to write to him on this matter. In what I have said, I hope that I have explained the confines and drivers of the reform; the powers that we are giving to the regulator; and the consistency with which they will be exercised to the Basel 3.1 proposal. I have previously spoken about accountability for that. I need to write to the right hon.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD

  50. I am happy to do my best. In terms of the changes and why they are not set out in the Bill, the changes that need to be made to the CRA regulations stem from “Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms”—the Basel document—which is part of the most recent Basel 3.1 package of reforms. Most of those have not been legislated for in the UK or the EU, and it makes sense to consider changes to the regulation as part of the wider implementation of the 3.1 package, which will be done through the future rules. They will be consulted on prior to the deadline. The power to amend the regulation will be used solely to implement Basel 3.1. There are a number of minor amendments contained in that “Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms” document of December 2017. The two eligibility criteria that credit rating agencies need to satisfy are added.

    FINANCIAL SERVICES BILL (SIXTH SITTING) · 2020-11-24 · READ IN HANSARD