Category: Speeches

Gillian Keegan – 2023 Statement on Higher Education

The statement made by Gillian Keegan, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 17 July 2023.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to announce the publication of the Government’s higher education reform consultation response. This country is one of the best in the world for studying in higher education, boasting four of the world’s top 10 universities. For most, higher education is a sound investment, with graduates expected to earn on average £100,000 more over their lifetime than those who do not go to university.

However, there are still pockets of higher education provision where the promise that university education will be worthwhile does not hold true and where an unacceptable number of students do not finish their studies or find a good job after graduating. That cannot continue. It is not fair to taxpayers who subsidise that education, but most of all it is not fair to those students who are being sold a promise of a better tomorrow, only to be disappointed and end up paying far into the future for a degree that did not offer them good value.

We want to make sure that students are charged a fair price for their studies and that a university education offers a good return. Our reforms are aimed at achieving that objective. That is why the Government launched the consultation in 2022, to seek views on policies based on recommendations made by Sir Philip Augar and his independent panel. The consultation ended in May 2022, and the Department for Education has been considering the responses received. I am now able to set out the programme of reforms that we are taking forward.

I believe that the traditional degree continues to hold great value, but it is not the only higher education pathway. Over the past 13 years, we have made substantial reforms to ensure that the traditional route is not the only pathway to a good career. Higher technical qualifications massively enhance students’ skills and career prospects, and deserve parity of esteem with undergraduate degrees. We have seen a growth in degree-level apprenticeships, with over 188,000 students enrolling since their introduction in 2014. I have asked the Office for Students to establish a £40 million competitive degree apprenticeships fund to drive forward capacity-building projects to broaden access to degree apprenticeships over the next two years.

That drive to encourage skills is why we are also investing up to £115 million to help providers deliver higher technical education. In March, we set out detailed information on how the lifelong learning entitlement will transform the way in which individuals can undertake post-18 education, and we continue to support that transformation through the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill, which is currently passing through the other place. We anticipate that that funding, coupled with the introduction of the LLE from 2025, will help to incentivise the take-up of higher technical education, filling vital skills gaps across the country.

Each of those reforms has had one simple premise: that we are educating people with the skills that will enable them to have a long and fulfilling career. I believe that we should have the same expectation for higher education: it should prepare students for life by giving them the right skills and knowledge to get well-paid jobs. With the advent of the LLE, it is neither fair nor right for students to use potentially three quarters of their lifelong loan entitlement for a university degree that does not offer them good returns. That would constrain their future ability to learn, earn and retrain. We must shrink the parts of the sector that do not deliver value, and ensure that students and taxpayers are getting value for money given their considerable investment.

Data shows that there were 66 providers from which fewer than 60% of graduates progressed to high-skilled employment or further study fifteen months after graduating. That is not acceptable. I will therefore issue statutory guidance to the OfS setting out that it should impose recruitment limits on provision that does not meet its rigorous quality requirements for positive student outcomes, to help to constrain the size and growth of courses that do not deliver for students. We will also ask the OfS to consider how it can incorporate graduate earnings into its quality regime. We recognise that many factors can influence graduate earnings, but students have a right to expect that their investment in higher education will improve their career prospects, and we should rightly scrutinise courses that appear to offer limited added value to students on the metric that matters most to many.

We will work with the OfS to consider franchising arrangements in the sector. All organisations that deliver higher education must be held to robust standards. I am concerned about some indications that franchising is acting as a potential route for low quality to seep into the higher education system, and I am absolutely clear that lead providers have a responsibility to ensure that franchised provision is of the same quality as directly delivered provision. If we find examples of undesirable practices, we will not hesitate to act further on franchising.

As I have said, we will ensure that students are charged a fair price for their studies. That is why we are also reducing to £5,760 the fees for classroom-based foundation year courses such as business studies and social sciences, in line with the highest standard funding rate for access to HE diplomas. Recently we have seen an explosion in the growth of many such courses, but limited evidence that they are in the best interests of students. We are not reducing the fee limits for high-cost, strategically important subjects such as veterinary sciences and medicine, but we want to ensure that foundation years are not used to add to the bottom line of institutions at the expense of those who study them. We will continue to monitor closely the growth of foundation year provision, and we will not hesitate to introduce further restrictions or reductions. I want providers to consider whether those courses add value for students, and to phase out that provision in favour of a broad range of tertiary options with the advent of the LLE.

Our aim is that everyone who wants to benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. That is why we will not proceed at this time with a minimum requirement of academic attainment to access student finance—although we will keep that option under review. I am confident that the sector will respond with the ambition and focused collaboration required to deliver this package of reforms. I extend my wholehearted thanks to those in the sector for their responses to the consultation.

This package of reforms represents the next step in tackling low-quality higher education, but it will not be the last step. The Government will not shy away from further action if required, and will consider all levers available to us if these quality reforms do not result in the improvements we seek. Our higher education system is admired across many countries, and these measures will ensure that it continues to be. I commend this statement to the House.

26/07/2023
Nigel Farage – 2023 Comments on the Resignation of Alison Rose

The comments made by Nigel Farage on Twitter on 26 July 2023.

Dame Alison Rose has gone. Others must follow.

I hope that this serves as a warning to the banking industry.

We need both cultural and legal changes to a system that has unfairly shut down many thousands of innocent people.

I will do my best to be their voice.

26/07/2023
Alison Rose – 2023 Statement on Standing Down as Natwest Group Chief Executive

The statement made by Alison Rose following her resignation as the Chief Executive of the Natwest Group on 26 July 2023.

I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth. My NatWest colleagues are central to that success, and so I would like to personally thank them for all that they have done.

26/07/2023
James Cleverly – 2023 Speech at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

The speech made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in New York on 17 July 2023.

In 2015, 193 countries agreed the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This was a landmark multilateral achievement, to chart our course towards a fairer, healthier and more prosperous world by 2030.

Yet today at the halfway point, we are on course to miss a staggering 88% of the targets that we set.

This is clearly unacceptable. We cannot continue with business as usual if we are to end poverty, improve health and education, increase prosperity, or slow climate change.

But if we act together, we can still get the SDGs back on track. So what do we need to do?

My top priority is reforming development finance – and targeting it to areas which will accelerate progress, like food security, health, renewable energy, and the empowerment of women and girls.

This is not my idea. It’s what my fellow foreign ministers from developing countries tell me that we need to do. That’s why the UK supports the ambitions of Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative.

We need Multilateral Development Banks to free up trillions more for developing countries by implementing the G20’s independent review on Capital Adequacy Frameworks.

We need more private sector investment, particularly in clean energy, water and sanitation, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

We need all creditors to offer Climate-Resilient Debt Clauses, to pause loan repayments when disasters strike – as the UK Export Finance is doing in 12 African and Caribbean countries.

And we must ensure developing countries have strong public finances through better tax collection and tackling of illicit financial flows.

Our international financial system needs to become more responsive to shocks – so we can help poorer and smaller countries – especially those at risk of natural disasters – to sustain development gains and to prevent roll backs.

We cannot stop floods, we cannot stop droughts, we cannot stop hurricanes. But we can stop the economic crises and debt spirals that they cause.

I recognise that the UK doesn’t have all the answers. But we are committed to working with all our partners to urgently accelerate progress towards the SDGs over the next 7 years.

All of us need to recommit to the Sustainable Development Goals at the upcoming Summit at UNGA in September. Because we will need political will and partnership to forge bigger, better, fairer international financial systems which meets today’s development needs.

And we can translate our joint political ambitions into concrete reforms through the G20, World Bank, IMF and at COP28.

It is time for us to go further and faster. Let us seize the opportunity.

Thank you.

25/07/2023
James Cleverly – 2023 Speech at the United Nations Security Council

The speech made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in New York, United States, on 17 July 2023.

More than 500 days have now passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

At least nine thousand innocent civilians lie dead – including 500 children. Thousands more Ukrainians have been kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured.

Homes, businesses, schools and hospitals have been reduced to rubble.

Russia’s incessant attacks have knocked out 60% of Ukraine’s power supply.

This war has claimed countless victims.

I’m going to focus on those who have been forcibly deported in this war – and those who are going hungry as a result of it.

In Kyiv last month I met a teenage boy – I’ll call him Denys.

When the Russians captured his home town, they told Denys and his classmates that they were going on a holiday.

They were in fact transported to a Russian camp where they were neglected, indoctrinated and abused.

Denys’ distraught mother was desperately searching for him.

But the Russians pretending to look after Denys and countless others told him his parents had abandoned him.

This boy’s ordeal lasted for 7 months before his mother – thanks to the charity Save Ukraine – found him and brought him home.

But 19,000 Ukrainian children remain in Russian camps – and their parents are desperately searching for them.

A further 2½ million Ukrainian men and women have been deported to Russia.

These are barbaric crimes. Russia is trying to erase Ukrainian identity and cultural history. And they are using children as an instrument of war.

But the world is watching and Russia will be held accountable. We welcome the International Criminal Court’s investigation. And we will leave no stone unturned until the responsible are brought to justice.

Ukrainians are Russia’s principal victims. But this war is also harming the poor and the vulnerable across the world – particularly in Africa, in Asia and in Latin America.

Energy prices rocketed by 20% worldwide last year – almost doubling global inflation from 4.7% to 8.7%.

World food supplies have fallen sharply.

Ukrainian food exports – maize, barley or wheat – have plummeted by more than 40%.

With catastrophic consequences for Sub-Africa which relies on these supplies.

Food prices are rocketing – by a staggering 332% in Lebanon last summer.

Some of these losses were offset by the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by the UN Secretary-General and Turkey.

But today Russia has announced it is refusing to extend it and is taking a colossal 23 million tonnes of Ukrainian food off of world markets over the forthcoming year.

As the UN Secretary General said this morning: “Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere”. We call on Russia to return to the table and agree to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative indefinitely – and to implement it fully without delay.

Let us be clear – Russia’s actions are taking food out of the mouths of the poorest people across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

We cannot allow this war to go on for another 500 days.

The UN General Assembly has called – repeatedly – for peace.

A peace that is based on the principles of the UN Charter and our shared belief that might does not equal right.

President Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan shows the way forward.

Ukraine wants peace. We want peace. The whole world wants peace.

Peace will bring home Ukraine’s lost children – and feed the hungry of the world.

Peace will keep the promises we all made in the UN Charter.

Peace will pave the way to a reformed multilateral system.

Peace will help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

A just and lasting peace is what we all want.

The Russian Federation can choose peace – today. By withdrawing all Russian forces from Ukraine.

Mr Putin – bring your troops home. End this war now.

25/07/2023
James Cleverly – 2023 Statement on Russia’s Withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative

The statement made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, on 17 July 2023.

The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine has obstructed the free flow of grain and other foodstuffs through the Black Sea, causing worldwide suffering. We urge Russia to re-join the initiative, which was developed by the UN in 2022, and allow the unimpeded export of grain.

Since its inception, the initiative has played a significant role in lowering and stabilising global food prices, delivering over 32 million tonnes of food products to world markets. Russia has obstructed the proper operation of the deal for several months. In doing so, Russia is serving its own interests and disregarding the needs of all those around the world, including in the poorest countries, who are paying higher food prices as a result. The UN estimates that without the grain provided by the BSGI, the number of undernourished people worldwide could increase by millions.

While exports of grain from Ukraine are restricted, Russian exports of food are at higher levels than before the invasion. We have always been clear that the target of our sanctions is Russia’s war machine and not the food and fertiliser sectors. Contrary to Russian claims, the UN and other partners have taken significant steps to ensure that Russian food is able to access world markets. The best way for Russia to address concerns around global food security would be for it to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and end the war.

25/07/2023
Rishi Sunak – 2023 Statement on the Public Sector Pay Review

The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 13 July 2023.

When making decisions on pay, as your Prime Minister, I have a responsibility to be fair.

Fair to public sector workers, who do so much in the service of our country.

But also fair to taxpayers, who ultimately fund our public services.

And the best way we’ve found of making fair decisions about public sector pay…

…are the independent Pay Review Bodies.

They were called for by the Unions themselves.

And for over four decades, they have been the independent arbiters of what is fair and responsible.

Those bodies have considered a range of evidence about where to set this year’s pay.

And their recommendations to government are for public sector pay to go up by a significant amount.

Now clearly, this will cost all of you, as taxpayers, more than we had budgeted for.

That’s why the decision has been difficult and why it has taken time to decide the right course of action.

I can confirm that today we’re accepting the headline recommendations of the Pay Review Bodies in full.

But we will not fund them by borrowing more or increasing your taxes.

It would not be right to increase taxes on everyone to pay some people more, particularly when household budgets are so tight.

Neither would it be right to pay for them by higher borrowing…

…because higher borrowing simply makes inflation worse.

Instead, because we only have a fixed pot of money to spend from…

…that means government departments have had to find savings and efficiencies elsewhere…

…in order to prioritise paying public sector workers more.

And now there is a clear message here.

There are always choices.

Budgets are not infinite.

When some ask for higher pay, that will always create pressures elsewhere…

…costs which must be ultimately be borne by the taxpayer, or by spending less on our other priorities.

So that’s our decision.

And having honoured the independent pay review process…

…I urge all union leaders to accept these pay offers and call off their strikes.

Already, earlier this year, the NHS staff council…

…representing over half a dozen unions, and over a million NHS workers…

…made a significant decision, and voted to accept their our pay offer and suspend strikes.

I’m grateful to them and their members.

And today, in response to the news of our decision, I’m pleased to say that we’ve had another major breakthrough.

All teaching unions have just announced that they’re suspending all planned strikes immediately.

Teachers will return to the classroom.

Disruption to our children’s education will end.

And the unions have themselves confirmed that this pay offer is properly funded.

And so, they’re recommending to their members an end to the entire dispute.

So it is now clear: momentum across our public services is shifting.

The vast majority, who just want to get on with their life’s calling of serving others, are now returning to work.

And in that spirit, I want to address those yet to do so.

Now that we’ve honoured the independent pay recommendations, I implore you:

Do the right thing, and know when to say yes.

In particular, for Doctors and Consultants, I would say this:

We have a national mission for all of us to make the NHS strong again.

The government has not only made today’s decision on pay…

We’ve backed the NHS with record funding…

Delivered the first ever, fully funded Long-Term Workforce Plan…

… and met the BMA’s number one ask of government, with a pensions tax cut worth £1bn.

So, we should all ask ourselves, whether Union leaders – or indeed political leaders…

…how it can it be right to continue disruptive industrial action?

Not least because these strikes lead to tens of thousands of appointments being cancelled – every single day…

…and waiting lists going up, not down.

So: today’s offer is final.

There will be no more talks on pay.

We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements.

And no amount of strikes will change our decision.

Instead, the settlement we’ve reached today gives us a fair way to end the strikes.

A fair deal for workers.

And a fair deal for the British taxpayer.

Thank you.

24/07/2023
Rishi Sunak – 2023 Statement to Leaders at NATO Summit in Lithuania

The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, in Lithuania on 12 July 2023.

This summit stands out as a landmark in NATO’s long history.

We arrived here faced with a more volatile and dangerous world…

A mechanised war in Europe on a scale not seen since 1945…

And increasing aggression from authoritarian states, challenging our security in Europe and beyond.

But as we leave Vilnius, we are more confident and more united than ever.

Let me set out three reasons why that’s the case.

First, we’ve acted decisively to strengthen this alliance.

Agreeing the most fundamental transformation to NATO’s readiness since the Cold War…

Comprehensive warfighting plans to defend the UK and its allies…

Scaled up defence production to boost our stockpiles, which will benefit British industry…

And increased defence spending…

…with all allies now committed to hitting the 2% target.

And we did something here in Vilnius that not long ago seemed impossible…

We welcomed Finland to the table as a NATO member…

….and very soon we’ll be doing the same with Sweden.

We are stronger with them by our side… and in time we will be stronger with Ukraine as a NATO ally too.

This is my second point…

It is now over 500 days since Russia’s invasion.

500 days of barbarity.

Of innocent people being murdered in their homes.

Of children being killed, abducted and used as human shields.

I want to pay tribute to the Ukrainian people and to their incredible bravery and resilience.

They’re still standing strong and defiant… and the counteroffensive is making progress.

In the last few weeks, they’ve taken back more ground than Russia has taken in the last year.

We are standing with them…

…and allies are doubling down in their support.

At the Munich Security Conference in February, I called for long-term security arrangements…

…to protect Ukraine, break the cycle of Russian violence, and ultimately help to end this war.

And today we have delivered.

Together with our G7 partners we have agreed to provide the long-term bilateral security commitments that Ukraine needs.

These commitments mark a new high point in international support for Ukraine.

And I want to be clear, they are not a substitute for NATO membership.

The summit communique echoes the UK’s long-held position that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”

And we’ve taken a big step this week towards bringing Ukraine into the alliance.

Together we’ve shortened their path to membership…

…removing the need for a Membership Action Plan…

…and holding the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council with President Zelenskyy sitting at the table, by our side, as an equal.

Finally, I‘d like to say a word about the UK’s role here.

I was struck once again this week by just how highly valued our contribution is.

The British people should know that – and they should be proud.

We are the leading European contributor to NATO.

We were one of the first to hit the 2% target and now we’re moving towards 2.5%.

We spend more than 20 other NATO countries combined, but it’s about much more than that.

It’s about our incredible Armed Forces across land, air and sea.

We’re one of the only countries that contributes to every NATO mission with RAF jets patrolling the eastern flank…

Troops on the ground in Estonia and Poland as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence…

And the Royal Navy, including our two aircraft carriers, providing around a quarter of NATO’s maritime capability.

It’s about our deep partnerships…

With Japan and Italy we’re producing a sixth-generation fighter through our Global Combat Air Program…

…and with AUKUS, we’re working with Australia and the US to build some of the most advanced nuclear-powered submarines the world has ever known.

And it’s about leadership.

We’ve led the way on Ukraine… moving first on tanks and long-range missiles… training their troops for the counter-offensive.

Just today I’ve announced we’re providing more ammunition, 70 more combat vehicles, as well as a new rehabilitation centre for injured Ukrainian veterans.

We’re moving forward with the combat air coalition…

…and the UK starts training Ukrainian pilots next month.

And we’re using our leadership in technology to keep NATO at the cutting edge…

Hosting the European Headquarters of the Defence Innovation Accelerator in the UK…

…and holding the first global summit on AI Safety later this year.

The UK has been there since the start of this alliance.

In 1948, in the hope of avoiding another devastating war, we joined together with a handful of allies…

…to pledge that we would come to one another’s defence.

That pact was the seed of the North Atlantic Treaty.

75 years later, faced with new threats in Europe, NATO is more important than ever.

It has proved itself to be the most successful Alliance in history…

…and this week we’ve shown once again that the UK is at its heart.

Thank you.

24/07/2023
Andrew Mitchell – 2023 Speech at the Towards the Global Refugee Forum

The speech made by Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development and Africa, on 12 July 2023.

Good morning.

I am sorry not to be able to join you at Wilton Park, where I trust there have been lots of lively discussions over the last few days. However, I do want to thank you all for coming to be a part of this important conversation. I extend particular thanks to our friends at the World Bank for their support for this event. Also to UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), and to those who have travelled considerable distances to join us.

It is fitting that this, the year of the second UN Global Refugee Forum (GRF), also marks the halfway moment of the Sustainable Development Goals – a moment when we are all thinking more than ever about what it truly means to ‘leave no one behind’. It is this spirit which animates so much of the global effort to support those who have been forced to flee their homes.

This support to refugees would not be possible without the work of our partners at UNHCR, or the generosity and dedication of those countries hosting large refugee populations. We are very pleased to have some of these states represented at this conference, and I commend them for their efforts.

However, we are all too aware that the challenge of meeting even basic needs for forcibly displaced people is getting harder. The trends are against us, with total displacement climbing in 2022 to over 108 million people, including nearly 40 million refugees. These are truly sobering figures, but there are things we can do.

First, we can work together across sectors and geographies to tackle the root causes of displacement.

From Sudan to Ukraine, we’ve seen in the last year alone the extent to which armed conflict and violence drive displacement. Alongside other members of the international community, the UK has been proud to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in these contexts and around the world. But we must all redouble our efforts to support and sustain peace, in order to enable the safe return of refugees to their homes.

I am also aware that I am speaking when climate migration and displacement is no longer a hypothetical, but a reality. We cannot afford to ignore accelerating climate impacts such as drought and environmental degradation. And as the threat of climate change increases globally, the number having to leave their homes will continue to grow.

And yet, there are reasons for hope. From the Bridgetown agenda to COP (Conference of the Parties), the world is coming together to address this existential threat and protect the most vulnerable from its impacts.

It is all of our responsibility to make sure that forcibly displaced people are included in this conversation. This includes using all the possibilities afforded by international fora, such as COP28, to ensure that we are not working in silos.

The UK is acting to mobilise climate funding that will address the underlying climate-related drivers of humanitarian crises. This will increase the supply of, and access to, the climate finance that vulnerable countries need. We are, in fact, very pleased to be hosting an event at Wilton Park, on the subject next week.

Secondly, we can put those who bear the brunt of displacement at the centre of our approach to solutions. The UK is proud to champion the rights of women and girls around the world.

A core principle of this is ensuring access to 12 years of quality education. Education for displaced girls in emergencies or conflict settings is a powerful tool. It is one of the best mechanisms for protecting them from gender-based violence and it gives them the tools to rebuild their home communities when they are able to return. It can maximise the potential of educated populations for addressing the climate crisis, and for promoting peace and tolerance.

But this is about hosting countries, as well as refugees. We know that delivering this education through national systems will also benefit host community children, as investment in their education systems makes these systems more resilient, and more sustainable. This will ensure that strong education provision is left behind when refugees can return home. As a proud champion of girls’ education, the UK is excited to be driving forwards an education multi-stakeholder pledge at this year’s GRF.

Thirdly, we can help refugees contribute to their host communities. By supporting refugees’ freedom of movement and right to work, we enable their agency. And, in the words of the Global Compact on Refugees, we enhance their self-reliance.

These mutually reinforcing benefits cannot be realised without both the right policy environment, and a strong enabling environment made possible through development. Including refugees in national systems and national planning is central to this.

We all recognise the potential of the GRF to be a moment that galvanises meaningful change. That transforms the lives of both forcibly displaced people and their host communities. To fulfil these ambitions, how we use the next 6 months is vitally important.

In my recent speech at Chatham House, I launched the UK’s new development platform, UKDev, which at its heart is about partnerships: partnerships with donor countries, partnerships with recipient countries, and partnerships across the sector. We must harness a wide range of actors to engage in the GRF. We must be clear in our intent, consistent in our approach, and strategic about our priorities. Above all, we must work together.

I look forward to hearing the results of your discussions and to working together over the coming months to realise our common ambitions for the GRF.

Thank you very much.

17/07/2023
Jeremy Hunt – 2023 Mansion House Speech

The speech made by Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Mansion House in London on 10 July 2023.

My Lord Mayor, Governor, Ladies and Gentlemen – it is an honour to be with you at the Mansion House tonight.

While some may be distracted by events in Windsor, we all know that Walbrook is the place to be this evening.

Thank you to the City of London Corporation for hosting us so generously. It is a privilege to follow the Lord Mayor’s excellent address and to give my first Mansion House speech as Chancellor.

Tonight, I want to talk about long term reforms to our competitiveness, but let me start with the immediate challenge of tackling inflation.

Following the pandemic and energy shock, like other countries, the UK faces difficult challenges.

It has shown itself more resilient than many predicted, but that resilience is itself one of the reasons for higher inflation.

In a cost-of-living crisis, that leads to great concern for many families who see the cost of their weekly food shop or the price of petrol go up.

But with the levers of fiscal and monetary policy, wholesale food and energy prices falling and a government that has made the battle against inflation its number one priority, there is nothing insurmountable in the current situation.

Let me be clear again tonight. Working with the Bank, we will do what is necessary for as long as necessary to tackle inflation persistence and bring it back to the 2% target.

Delivering sound money is our number one focus. That means taking responsible decisions on public finances, including public sector pay, because more borrowing is itself inflationary.

It means recognising that bringing down inflation puts more money into people’s pockets than any tax cut.

And it means recognising that there can be no sustainable growth without eliminating the inflation that deters investment and erodes consumer confidence.

Tackling inflation therefore unlocks the Prime Minister’s two other economic priorities – growing our economy and reducing debt – but because it is a prerequisite for both, it must come first.

As we tackle inflation, we must always remember our responsibilities to those struggling the most, so I am therefore grateful to our banks and mortgage lenders for their help in developing last month’s Mortgage Charter.

I agree with the Governor that margin recovery benefits no one if it feeds inflation.

And I will continue to work with regulators to make sure the needs of families are prioritised in a tough period.

This evening, though, I want to look further ahead.

I want to lay out our plans to enable our financial services sector to increase returns for pensioners, improve outcomes for investors and unlock capital for our growth businesses.

We start from a position of strength.

The financial and related professional services industry employs over 2.5 million people. Although two thirds of them are outside the South-East, it has made London the world’s second largest financial centre and one of the most dynamic cities on the planet.

It generates more than £100 billion in tax revenue, paying for half the cost of running the NHS.

A strong City needs a successful economy, and a strong economy needs a successful City.

Recent challenges have led to some lose hope and even peddling a declinist narrative.

They are profoundly wrong.

I am proud that since 2010, we have one million more businesses and one million fewer unemployed.

And we’ve grown faster than France, Italy, Japan or Germany.

In the last decade we have become Europe’s largest life science sector, Europe’s largest technology sector, its biggest film and TV sector and its second largest clean energy sector.

But as we emerge from our current challenges, the Prime Minister and I have big ambitions for the British economy.

We want to be the world’s next Silicon Valley and a science superpower, embracing new technologies like AI in a way that brings together the skills of our financiers, entrepreneurs and scientists to make our country a force for good in the world.

That means making sure our financial services sector, traditionally so nimble and agile, has the right architecture to provide the best possible security for investors as well as capital for businesses, and the best talent right here in the UK to make that happen.

The structures put in place after the financial crisis have served us well and financial stability will always be our top priority.

But we can further improve the functioning of capital markets, so this evening I set out the government’s Mansion House reforms.

They build on the Edinburgh Reforms I announced in December and the vision for financial services which the now Prime Minister spoke about here in 2021 of an open, sustainable, innovative and globally competitive sector.

Firstly, I am announcing a series of measures to boost returns and improve outcomes for pension fund holders whilst increasing funding liquidity for high-growth companies.

Second, I will set out ways to incentivise companies to start and grow in the UK by strengthening our position as a listings destination.

And finally, we will reform and simplify our financial services rulebook to ensure we have the most growth-friendly regulation possible without compromising our commitment to stability.

Pensions

I begin with pensions.

The UK has the largest pension market in Europe, worth over £2.5 trillion. It plays a critical role in providing safe retirement income as part of the social contract between generations.

Government policy, such as autoenrollment, has strengthened it but so too has confidence in the expertise of our financial institutions to manage investments wisely.

However, currently we have a perverse situation in which UK institutional investors are not investing as much in UK high-growth companies as their international counterparts.

At the same time on their current trajectory, some defined contribution schemes may not provide the returns their pension fund holders expect or need.

Whilst many defined benefit funds are in surplus, their returns are lower than some international peers and some are still underfunded.

So alongside our outstanding Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith and brilliant Pensions Minister Laura Trott I have engaged with some of our largest pension schemes, insurers, asset managers and experts to put together tonight’s Mansion House reforms. I am also immensely grateful to Sir Jon Symonds and Sir Steve Webb for their advice on how to construct this package. And I’m also very grateful to Gwyneth Nurse and her brilliant team in the Treasury. Gwyneth is of course the real Chancellor as we Official Chancellors come and go.

Tonight I lay out the direction of travel. Sometimes consultations will be necessary, but all final decisions will be made ahead of the Autumn Statement later this year.

And as we make those decisions, I will be guided by three golden rules.

Firstly everything we do we will seek to secure the best possible outcomes for pension savers, with any changes to investment structures putting their needs first and foremost.

Secondly we will always prioritise a strong and diversified gilt market. It will be an evolutionary not revolutionary change to our pensions market. Those who invest in our gilts are helping to fund vital public services and any changes must recognise the important role they play.

The third golden rule is that the decisions we take must always strengthen the UK’s competitive position as a leading financial centre able to fund, through the wealth it creates, our precious public services.

I start with Defined Contribution pension schemes, which in the UK now invest under 1% in unlisted equity, compared to between 5 and 6% in Australia.

Today I am pleased to announce that the Lord Mayor and I joined the CEOs of many of our largest DC pension schemes – namely Aviva, Scottish Widows, L&G, Aegon, Phoenix, Nest, Smart Pension, M&G & Mercer – for the formal signing of the “Mansion House Compact”.

The Compact – which is a great personal triumph for the Lord Mayor – commits these DC funds, which represent around two-thirds of the UK’s entire DC workplace market, to the objective of allocating at least 5% of their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030.

If the rest of the UK’s DC market follows suit, this could unlock up to £50 billion of investment into high growth companies by that time.

Secondly, we know funds can only optimise returns from a balanced portfolio if they have the scale to do so. We will therefore facilitate a programme of DC consolidation, to ensure that funds are able to maintain a diverse portfolio of bonds, equity and unlisted assets and deliver the best possible returns for savers.

Tomorrow, the Department for Work and Pensions will publish its joint consultation response with the Pensions Regulator and the FCA on the Value For Money framework, clarifying that investment decisions should be made on the basis of long-term returns and not simply cost.

Pension schemes which are not achieving the best possible outcome for their members will face being wound up by the Pensions Regulator. We will also set out a roadmap to encourage Collective DC funds, a new type of pension fund which we believe holds great promise for the future.

Third, we need to ensure that all schemes have access to a wide range of investment vehicles that enable them to invest quickly and effectively in unlisted high growth companies.

We have launched the LIFTS competition, and will consider closely the bids that have already started to come in for up to £250 million of government support.

Alongside that, we will explore the case for government to play a greater role in establishing investment vehicles, building on the skills and expertise of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm which has helped to mobilise £15bn of capital into over 20,000 companies.

Ahead of Autumn Statement, we will test options to open those investment opportunities in high-growth companies to pension funds as a way of crowding in more investment.

I now move on to Defined Benefit schemes which number over 5000 and operate under a different regulatory regime. Their landscape is also too fragmented.

I recognise the important role played by insurers offering buy-out schemes, which will continue to be an essential part of the way we improve security for pension members in this market.

But in addition, we will set out our plans on introducing a permanent superfund regulatory regime to provide sponsoring employers and trustees with a new scaled-up way of managing DB liabilities.

Having engaged closely with a range of experts, we will launch a call for evidence tomorrow on the role of the PPF and the part DB schemes play in productive investment – whilst always being mindful of the second golden rule to protect the sound functioning and effectiveness of the gilt market.

Fifth, we will look at the culture of investment decisions and improve the understanding of pension trustees’ fiduciary duty across both DB and DC schemes. DWP and HMT will jointly launch a call for evidence to explore how we can overcome barriers and ensure a focus on good saver outcomes.

And finally, government must lead by example, so we will consult on accelerating the consolidation of Local Government Pension Scheme assets, with a deadline of March 2025 for all LGPS funds to transfer their assets into local government pension pools and ensure greater transparency on investments.

To make sure we are delivering the maximum benefits of scale, we will invite views on barriers to achieving better investment returns across the LGPS as well as setting a direction that each asset pool should exceed £50 billion of assets.

We will also consult on an ambition to double the existing local government pension scheme allocations in private equity to 10%, which could unlock a further £25 billion by 2030.

Today’s announcements could have a real and significant impact on people across the country.

For an average earner who starts saving at 18, these measures could increase the size of their pension pot by 12% over their career – that’s worth over £1,000 more a year in retirement.

At the same time this package has the potential to unlock an additional £75 billion of financing for growth by 2030, finally addressing the shortage of scale up capital holding back so many of our most promising companies.

Increasing borrowing through £28 billion a year of unfunded spending commitments, as some are suggesting, would entrench inflation and push up interest rates.

These reforms, conversely, unlock capital from the private sector delivering growth not by subsidy, but by increasing support for entrepreneurs and investors who take risks to create long term value.

Listings

I now move onto listings. The UK has the largest stock market in Europe and in 2021 attracted the most global IPOs of any stock market outside the US.

But between 1997 and 2019, there was a 44% decline in the number of domestic listed companies in the UK, part of a wider trend across western markets, with the US and France seeing even steeper falls.

I want the world’s fastest growing companies to grow and list right here, making LSE not just Europe’s NASDAQ but much more. As David Schwimmer and Julia Hoggett say, we want it to be the global capital for capital.

So today we are publishing draft legislation on prospectus reforms, delivering another milestone of Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review. This will create a more effective regime than its EU predecessor, giving companies the flexibility to raise larger sums from investors more quickly.

The government welcomes Rachel Kent’s excellent Investment Research Review published today and has accepted all recommendations made to it. We therefore welcome the FCA’s commitment to start immediate engagement with the market to inform any rule changes on removing the requirement to unbundle research costs by the first half of next year. This will ensure we are better able to fund quality research into the new Silicon Valley sectors.

Last week, we abolished protectionist rules inherited from our time in the EU such as the Share Trading Obligation and Double Volume Cap so UK businesses can now access the best and most liquid markets anywhere in the world.

And, in a highly innovative step which represents a global first, we will establish a pioneering new “intermittent trading venue” that will improve private companies access to capital markets before they publicly list. This will be up and running before the end of 2024, and put the UK at the forefront of capital market innovation.

Smart regulation

Finally, behind all those plans must sit a financial services sector ready to innovate faster with regulators willing to support them as they do.

We have one of the most robust regulatory regimes and some of the best regulators in the world. Brexit gives us the autonomy to put their skills to even better use as we seek to become leaders in the industries of the future.

So I am delighted that we have just last month passed into law the landmark Financial Services and Markets Act, which will ensure our regulators have an appropriate focus on growth and competitiveness alongside their wider responsibilities.

The Act also unlocks wholesale reform of our approach to regulation and today I can announce that we are commencing repeal of almost 100 pieces of unnecessary retained EU law, further simplifying our rulebook whilst retaining our high regulatory standards.

Alongside this, last month I was delighted to sign the new UK-EU financial services Memorandum of Understanding as we build a new relationship with our European partners.

We are working closely with the Bank of England to reflect on lessons from recent events to ensure the UK has the best possible arrangements in place to improve continuity of access to deposits when a bank fails even if it is not a systemically important one.

And I want to make sure we remain at the forefront of payments technology. So I am launching an independent review into the future of payments – led by Joe Garner – to help deliver the next generation of world class retail payments, including looking at mobile payments.

We are laying new legislation to give regulators the powers they need to reform rules on innovative payments and fintech services, and, together with the Bank of England, we are exploring potential designs for the digital pound should we decide to introduce it.

Conclusion

My Lord Mayor, Governor, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Pension industry and listings reforms, backed by smart regulation, to unlock better returns for savers and more growth capital for businesses.

That is what today’s Mansion House reforms deliver.

British growth driven by British financial firepower, providing higher living standards and better funded public services.

With cooperation between government, regulators and business closer than ever…

… we will deliver not just more competitive financial services but a more innovative economy.

More money for savers.

More funding for our high-growth companies.

And more investment to grow our economy.

That is the vision I have set out today – let’s deliver it together.

Thank you.

16/07/2023