Lucy Rigby MP: speeches

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Speeches

9 Dec 2025 · Support for Entrepreneurs · Hansard source
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As has been covered by my colleagues, we are putting in a £4 billion support package and continuing to engage with the hospitality sector. I should also add that we are easing licensing to help venues offer pavement drinks and one-off events too.
9 Dec 2025 · Support for Entrepreneurs · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the right hon. Member for his question, as I always am. We are doing an awful lot to support R&D in this country, including through many of the measures announced at the Budget. That includes putting an additional £7 billion into specific areas within the industrial strategy.
9 Dec 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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We published the financial inclusion strategy last month, outlining ambitious measures that will improve financial inclusion right across the country. I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for her advocacy on this issue through the all-party parliamentary group on debt and financial inclusion. In line with the priorities outlined by the APPG, the strategy champions inclusive design to make products more accessible, increases debt advice capacity and supports financial independence for survivors of economic abuse.
9 Dec 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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The shadow Minister makes reference to a number of changes in the Budget that were pragmatic, responsible and fair. I contrast that with the Conservatives’ approach, which would return us to austerity. That would be both irresponsible and unfair.
9 Dec 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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As my hon. Friend knows, I have been very sorry to hear of the difficulties of those affected by the withdrawal of that product. I pay tribute to her for all her efforts and those of her colleagues. They are doing everything possible to assist constituents. My officials are monitoring the matter very closely. We encourage anyone with information relevant to the Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation to go straight to the FCA. However, I would be more than happy to do as she suggests and get the stakeholders together.
9 Dec 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. Member for his question. We very much understand the importance of in-person banking, including in beautiful, rural communities such as those that he represents. That is exactly why we are committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs right across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far and more than 190 are already open.
9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I am afraid that I must disagree with the hon. Lady when she says that 350 is a meaningless number, but of course we understand the importance of in-person banking for rural communities. The location of banking hubs is determined independently by Link, and the criteria are a matter for the FCA, but I regularly meet MPs to discuss the adequacy and the application of those rules. In fact, there will be a banking hub surgery for Members of Parliament tomorrow, and she is more than welcome to join it.
9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The Government of course recognise that innovation is key to our long-term economic growth and to higher productivity, and indeed to living standards. That is exactly why we are investing more in R&D, and we have made other incentives available too.
2 Dec 2025 · Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I turn first to the environmental, social and governance ratings order, which I note the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee flagged as an instrument of interest in its 41st report. The draft order will bring the provision of ESG ratings within the regulatory perimeter of the Financial Conduct Authority. Regulation will improve standards in the market, boost investor confidence and reduce greenwashing, and it has strong support across the financial sector. As hon. Members will be aware, ESG ratings are a spectrum of products usually marketed as providing an assessment of the ESG profile, characteristics, risk exposures or impacts associated with a company, fund or other financial instrument. ESG ratings are widely relied on by investors to guide investment decisions in line with sustainability risks, opportunities and preferences. Of the £10 trillion-worth of assets under management in the UK in 2024, half had integrated ESG factors into the investment process. In the UK in 2024, more than 5,400 firms were using ESG ratings. However, the ESG ratings market has developed rapidly and without formal oversight. This has led stakeholders and users to raise concerns about transparency, governance, internal controls and potential conflicts of interest within ESG ratings providers. Identifying these concerns, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions published recommendations for ESG ratings and data providers, calling for higher standards and sufficient oversight in the sector. The Government have acted quickly to deliver progress on this important agenda.
2 Dec 2025 · Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 · Hansard source
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I welcome the consensus on the draft regulations. Four principal points were raised in relation to the draft order. The first was on the international position, and the recommendations we are putting in place in this draft order are in line with the IOSCO and OECD recommendations. The EU framework has been legislated for, but it will not come into force until 2026. In many areas of financial services, we have the ability to put in place an overseas recognition regime—an ORR. We do not yet have the ability to do that in relation to this, but we hope to take the power in the next financial services Bill to enable us to bring forward exactly this kind of measure where we wish to do so. The shadow Minister might be aware that Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan have codes of conduct of this nature. In relation to charities—this is a good point and was considered—the scope of the regulated activity set out in the draft order is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm. As such, charities will be excluded from regulation where a rating is provided on an occasional or one-off basis, or where there is no remuneration or other financial benefit provided to the charity. As I said, this approach, informed by consultation, ensures that the regulation is risk-based and proportionate while avoiding loopholes. The shadow Minister also mentioned defence. The Chancellor has stated very clearly her view that supporting the defence industry, and indeed Ukraine, is consistent with ethical investing. The regulation will allow investors to more fairly evaluate ESG risks and opportunities related to defence companies. I should make it clear that we have engaged extensively with the defence sector, and we think there is quite limited evidence that defence firms have struggled to access finance on ESG grounds. Briefly, the fiduciary duty is important and, as the shadow Minister knows, it has been much discussed. The Pensions Minister will address it further in subsequent stages of the Pension Schemes Bill.
2 Dec 2025 · Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 · Hansard source
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We remain open to the prospect of regulatory alignment with other regimes. We want to get this done first, but the hon. Gentleman raises an important point. As I say, the Government have acted quickly to deliver progress. As hon. Members will know, a consultation was issued by the previous Government; this Government have ensured that the consultation response and draft legislation were published for technical comments as part of the Chancellor’s first Mansion House speech. That draft legislation has been refined into the ESG ratings order before the Committee. The draft order will create a new regulated activity of providing an ESG rating where that rating is likely to influence a decision to make a specified investment. This will require providers of ESG ratings to be authorised and be supervised by the FCA. In recognition of the fact that ESG ratings are provided by a range of different persons, the scope of the regulated activity is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm, avoiding dual regulation and maintaining consistency with the existing regulatory framework. The draft order contains specific exclusions to that effect, for example where a firm is providing ESG ratings as part of another regulated activity. To support the integrity of the UK market and ensure a level playing field, ESG ratings that are provided to a UK customer by an overseas provider will fall into the scope of the regulated activity, except where those ratings are provided without remuneration or financial incentive. The Government support open, competitive and internationally connected financial markets, and we therefore intend to give further consideration to market access arrangements for overseas ESG ratings providers. In the interests of allowing plenty of time for industry to engage, while also delivering a regulatory regime in a timely manner, the FCA launched its consultation on the specific regulations for ESG ratings providers on 1 December, on the basis that the draft order had been laid on 27 October. The FCA rules will be designed to be proportionate and tailored to address harms while protecting innovation, in line with the regulator’s secondary growth and competitiveness objective. The proposal to bring ESG ratings providers into regulation has received strong support from industry. The move will strengthen market integrity and boost investor confidence, helping the sector to attract new users and providers. The draft order is a core part of the Government’s agenda to drive growth in the UK’s sustainable finance market. The draft prudential regulation of credit institutions regulations are a technical instrument that makes changes to support reforms to UK banking regulation. The regulations will keep our legislation for financial services effective, and they will assist the Treasury in applying the FSMA model of regulation to set a prudential framework for banks. The regulations do not introduce any new regulatory requirements for firms. As hon. Members will be aware, banks are required to follow a set of prudential regulations to manage their risk appropriately and maintain adequate levels of capital to protect against any losses. In addition, the biggest banks are required to hold additional loss-absorbing debt to ensure that they can be allowed to fail without the need for taxpayer-funded bail-outs such as those seen during the global financial crisis. A significant amount of prudential regulation is set out in the capital requirements regulation, or CRR, which formed part of domestic law during our time as an EU member state. Following our exit from the EU, the Government have been tailoring the existing financial services framework to the UK’s needs. That includes the CRR, which will be removed from the statute book and largely restated in the Prudential Regulation Authority’s rulebook, providing more flexibility and allowing the PRA to set the relevant requirements. To do that, legislation has been passed to revoke the CRR—notably in FSMA 2021 and FSMA 2023. In that context, the Government have brought forward these technical regulations to make a small number of consequential amendments to pieces of legislation that refer to specific CRR articles—specifically, they amend the Banking Act 2009 to ensure that definitions relating to share capital instruments and banks’ own funds reflect the revocation of certain CRR articles. In summary, although these draft regulations are technical and do not introduce any new rules, they are nevertheless a necessary step in continuing the reform of our banking regulation to ensure that our regulatory framework remains coherent. I commend the regulations to the Committee.
2 Dec 2025 · Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 · Hansard source
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The point in relation to oil and gas is exactly the same as that for defence. There is no conflict between what we are doing here and investment in those areas. If anything, it will be helpful across the board. Fiduciary duty was the final point raised, so I will leave it there. Question put and agreed to. DRAFT FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (REGULATED ACTIVITIES) (ESG RATINGS) ORDER 2025 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 .—(Lucy Rigby.)
2 Dec 2025 · Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025 · Hansard source
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I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025.
4 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I am indeed aware of this issue. I know that it affects people in my hon. Friend’s constituency and in plenty of other Members’ constituencies, too. I also know how concerned he and other Members are about it. It is for the Financial Conduct Authority to consider whether it is appropriate to take any further steps, but I have asked my officials to engage with the FCA on how it is approaching this.
4 Nov 2025 · Banking Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source
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We recognise the important role that post offices, in particular, play in providing essential banking services as well as banking hubs. Decisions about which services are available at post offices—such as cheque deposits—are made by banks as part of their commercial arrangements. I should emphasise that customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, which I know is an issue for the hon. Member; in the case of Lloyds, it can be done via Freepost. As I have said, I look forward to discussing these issues further with the hon. Member during our meeting.
4 Nov 2025 · Banking Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is well versed in all these areas, and has done considerable work in this regard. As I have said, the banks play a role in providing access to cash, for instance via post office banking services.
4 Nov 2025 · Banking Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source
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Where it is appropriate to do so—indeed, it is very often appropriate to do so—we will blame the Conservative party for the state of the country, and it is appropriate to do so here. On the criteria that Link uses for banking hubs, I will remind the hon. Gentleman that, in relation to the access to cash regime, that was designed and passed by the previous Government.
4 Nov 2025 · Banking Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source
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The Government understand the importance of in-person banking to communities, and we are working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the United Kingdom. More than 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 180 are already open. I know that that includes two in the hon. Member’s constituency, and I look forward to our upcoming meeting to discuss her constituents’ banking needs.
4 Nov 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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I am aware of the scheme that the right hon. Member talks about. He will appreciate that I cannot pre-empt the launch of the strategy tomorrow, nor indeed the Budget, but I would be more than happy to meet him to talk about it in more detail.
4 Nov 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises a really important point. As part of developing the strategy, the Government have engaged with Financial Inclusion Committee members and other organisations on how to measure the impact of the strategy, and indeed to drive its delivery. The strategy’s implementation will be reviewed two years from publication against outcomes-based metrics to provide an update on progress. I will be more than happy to meet her to discuss this.
4 Nov 2025 · Financial Inclusion Strategy · Hansard source
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I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her years of work to further financial inclusion both during her time here and prior to Parliament. This is a timely question, because tomorrow we will publish the Government’s financial inclusion strategy, which sets out an ambitious programme of measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience for communities right across the UK.
28 Oct 2025 · Stamp Duty Land Tax · Hansard source
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I assure him that the houses will be beautiful and that we will build 1.5 million of them over the course of this Parliament. There was a brief reference to Nirvana from the Conservative Benches before a descent back into half-baked and unfunded plans, to which we on the Government Benches thought, “Well, Nevermind.”
28 Oct 2025 · Stamp Duty Land Tax · Hansard source
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It is a tax, so obviously I do not love it, but what I find extraordinary is the Conservative party’s new-found hatred of taxation when they increased taxes 25 times in the last Parliament. As I said, we heard from various hon. Members about their objections to this tax. I will not engage on the points made about the Budget, for obvious reasons, except to repeat that we are committed to a single major fiscal event per year where the Chancellor will set out any tax decisions in the usual way alongside the OBR’s forecast. That fiscal event will take place, as everyone knows, on 26 November, at which point there will be plenty of time to discuss and debate the decisions that the Chancellor takes in the Budget. I want to speak to some of the points raised during the debate. We heard plenty from Conservative Members about why they want to abolish stamp duty. I think some points were made thoughtfully; I say that in a well-meant way. I am sorry to say, however, that we heard absolutely nothing from Conservative Members on their appalling economic record. We heard nothing from them on their appalling record on house building—save for the acknowledgment of the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse)—nothing on the waste of public money from the fraud on their watch, and nothing whatsoever that could be described as fiscal responsibility. We heard from some of my hon. Friends on the Labour Benches about the urgent need to build more houses in this country, given our appalling inheritance. That is the key way that we solve the housing crisis. I pay tribute to the thoughtful speeches of my hon. Friends the Members for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin), for Milton Keynes North (Chris Curtis), for Crewe and Nantwich (Connor Naismith) and for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor), and to my hon. Friends the Members for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) and for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance), who spoke powerfully of the consequences of the Conservative party’s mismanagement of the economy, which include food banks, poverty and, of course, the housing crisis. I welcome the commitment of the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire. He talked about the need to build more housing and, indeed, about beautiful housing. I assure him that that is exactly the type of housing that this Government will facilitate being built—although I note that his colleagues took him straight back to opposing development no sooner had he made that point. I also welcome his mini-insight into the infighting of the last Government.
28 Oct 2025 · Stamp Duty Land Tax · Hansard source
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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The motion is proof that the Conservatives have learned none of the lessons of their catastrophic mini-Budget or of the years of the punishing austerity that was inflicted on the people and institutions of this country, with nothing whatsoever to show for it but soaring debt, low productivity and devastated household finances. Let me be clear that stamp duty is not a beloved tax—far from it; it is no more beloved than any other taxes—but it is an effective tax that raises billions of pounds annually, with those buying the most expensive properties contributing the most. That contribution is vital to the upkeep of our public services, our NHS, our schools and our armed forces. Abolishing it would take billions out of the public purse—£13.9 billion alone. It would be a multibillion-pound tax cut affecting the budgets of our most essential services. It is the same horror show from the same old Conservatives, wildly swinging their scythe at public services without a care in the world for the consequences for our NHS, our schools and our armed forces. Which services would Conservative Members want to cut down this time? Would it be fewer nurses, fewer soldiers or fewer police officers? [ Interruption. ] Conservative Members are asking me whether I am asking them. I am more than aware that in the debate they referenced their fantasy economics based on welfare cuts. The shadow Chancellor oversaw the biggest increase in benefit spending in decades when he was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. If he truly believes that welfare spending needs cutting, why did he let it balloon? We have heard from various hon. Members about their objections to this tax and about all sorts of things they imagine might be in the Budget.
28 Oct 2025 · Stamp Duty Land Tax · Hansard source
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I will make some progress. That is the Conservatives’ pitch to the British public—reckless with our public finances, reckless with our public services and reckless with the future of this country. Conservative Members are competing to say how sad and angry they are about this tax. They will be furious when they find out which party gave us the highest tax burden since the second world war! [ Interruption. ] The motion is a seemingly straight-faced argument from Conservative Members that we should do the exact thing that brought their 14 years of government to an end. It is proof that they have learned—

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