Tag: Rishi Sunak

The speech made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 4 October 2021.

Whatever it takes.

That phrase, and those press conferences, were my introduction to so many of you as Chancellor.

It was daunting to face such a challenge in my first days in office. And what it also meant is that more than a year has gone by before I had the chance to meet you all properly. And that is why these last few days have been such a joy. Meeting you all face to face and hearing so many of you say to me “Wow, you’re even shorter in real life!”

Nothing can ever prepare you to become Chancellor, especially in recent times. There have been occasions where it really did feel that the world was collapsing. In those moments, there are certain things I fell back on. Yes, my family. Yes, my colleagues. Yes, my tremendous Treasury team.

And yes, the person who made all this possible, the person who delivered a thumping Conservative majority, my friend, our leader, the country’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

But the other thing I fell back on is something we all have in this room. Our values. Our Conservative values.

I believe in some straightforward things.

I believe that mindless ideology is dangerous. I’m a pragmatist. I care about what works, not about the purity of any dogma. I believe in fiscal responsibility. Just borrowing more money and stacking up bills for future generations to pay, is not just economically irresponsible. It’s immoral.

Because it’s not the state’s money. It’s your money.

I believe that the only sustainable route out of poverty comes from having a good job. It’s not just the pounds it puts in your pockets. It’s the sense of worth and self-confidence it gives you. So I will do whatever I can to protect people’s livelihoods, and create new opportunities too.

And when it comes to those new opportunities, I am very much a child of my time. I spent the formative years of my career working around technology companies in California. And I believe the world is at the beginning of a new age of technological progress which can transform jobs, wealth, and transformed lives.

So: pragmatism. Fiscal responsibility. A belief in work. And an unshakeable optimism about the future. This is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is what it will take. And we will do whatever it takes.
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Our Plan is Working

And there can be no prosperous future unless it is built on the foundation of strong public finances.

And I have to be blunt with you. Our recovery comes with a cost.

Our national debt is almost 100% of GDP – so we need to fix our public finances. Because strong public finances don’t happen by accident. They are a deliberate choice. They are a legacy for future generations. And a safeguard against future threats.

I’m grateful, and we should all be grateful to my predecessors and their 10 years of sound Conservative management of our economy. They believed in fiscal responsibility. I believe in fiscal responsibility. And everyone in this hall does too.

And whilst I know tax rises are unpopular. Some will even say un-Conservative. I’ll tell you what IS un-Conservative.

Unfunded pledges.

Reckless borrowing.

And soaring debt.

Anyone who tells you that you can borrow more today, and tomorrow will simply sort itself out just doesn’t care about the future.

Yes, I want tax cuts. But in order to do that, our public finances must be put back on a sustainable footing.

Labour’s track record on the public finances speaks for itself.

Since 2010, we’ve had 5 Labour Leaders, 7 Shadow Chancellors and innumerable spending pledges. And in all that time they still haven’t got the message. The British people won’t trust a Party that isn’t serious with their money. That’s why they vote Conservative.

We must never forget that the fundamental economic differences between us and Labour run very deep.

Differences not just about debt and borrowing but about how to deal with the real pressures people face in their lives.

And right now, we are facing challenges to supply chains not just here but right around the world and we are determined to tackle them head on.

But tackling the cost of living isn’t just a political sound bite. It’s one of the central missions of this Conservative government.

Picture this: you’re a young family. You work hard, saving a bit each month. But it’s tough.

You have ambitions for your careers for your children.

You want to give them the best more than you had.

Now you tell me: Is the answer to their hopes and dreams, just to increase their benefits?

Is the answer to tell that young family the economic system is rigged against you, and the only way you stand a chance is to lean ever more on the state?

Be in no doubt, that is the essence of the Labour answer.

Not only does Labour’s approach not work in practice. It is a desperately sad vision for our future.

But there is an alternative. An approach focused on good work, better skills, and higher wages.

An approach that says: ‘Yes, we believe in you. We will help you. And you will succeed.”

And better still, it’s more than words. It’s a plan in action. A Conservative plan and Conference it is working.

 

We’re giving people the means and opportunities to help themselves

Governments rarely get to set the tests by which they will ultimately be judged.

And our test is jobs.

Remember, as economies around the world pulled the shutters down, forecasters were predicting unemployment to reach 12%. Millions of people were on the precipice of losing their jobs, their livelihoods, and their homes.

Well, the forecasts were wrong.

The unemployment rate is at less than 5% and falling. That’s lower than France, America, Canada, Italy, and Spain.

And we now have one of the fastest recoveries of any major economy in the world.

Now it wasn’t that the forecasters had bad models No. It’s just their models did not take account of one thing – and that was this Conservative Government. Our will to act and our plan to deliver.

An increased national living wage. The restart programme. Sector based work academies. Doubling work coaches. Job finding support. Traineeships. Apprenticeship incentives. Skills Bootcamps. And the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

All things we are doing that won’t just help people but will give them the means and opportunities to help themselves.
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Our plan for the future

I believe in good work, better skills, and higher wages.

I believe that every person in this country has the potential to become something greater.

And I know that we, and only we, the Conservative party, are the ones who can make that happen.

And our economy cannot be what we need it to be without the courage, creativity and sheer force of will that each new generation brings.

Yet, at its peak just under 1 in 3 workers under 25 were on furlough. One in three.

That’s one million people who didn’t have the fall back of a career history or a network of contacts, and in many cases hadn’t even moved into their first job.

And so what did we do? We created the Kickstart scheme, up running and working in a matter of months. A landmark programme that is helping young people start exciting new careers.

And thanks to our plan, young people, just like John Chihoro who introduced me today, are starting those new jobs in their thousands.

So to give more young people the same chance as John, I can confirm we are expanding our successful Plan for Jobs into next year.

The Kickstart scheme extra support through the Youth Offer, the Job Entry Targeted Support scheme, and our Apprenticeship Incentives. All extended because we believe in the awesome power of opportunity.

And we are going to make sure that no young person in our country is left without it.

But what we do today means little if we don’t also have a plan for tomorrow.

A plan for the future.

A future economy shaped by the forces of science, technology, and imagination.

The years I spent in California left a lasting mark on me, working with some of the most innovative and exciting people in finance and technology. Watching ideas becoming a reality. Seeing entrepreneurs build new teams.

It’s not just about money.

I saw a culture, a mindset which was unafraid to challenge itself, reward hard work, and was open to all those with the talent to achieve.

 

The future is here

I look across the United Kingdom and that culture is here too in the young people I’ve already spoken about today, unencumbered by timidity and orthodoxy.

And it’s there in our willingness to take risks not just on companies, but on people.

People with the raw potential to create a wave of the most dynamic high growth companies. A wave that will reach the farthest corners of the world.

That optimism, that unshakeable belief that the future, can be different and better was also at the heart of Brexit.

I remember over five years ago being told that if I backed Brexit my political career would be over before it had even begun.

Well, I put my principles first. And I always will.

I was proud to back Brexit. Proud to back Leave.

And that’s because despite the challenges in the long term, I believed the agility flexibility and freedom provided by Brexit would be more valuable in a 21st century global economy than just proximity to a market.

That in the long term a renewed culture of enterprise willingness to take risks and be imaginative would inspire changes in the way we do things at home.

Brexit was never just about the things we couldn’t do. It was also about the things we didn’t do.

That’s why we introduced the super deduction, a UK first in tax policy which is triggering an explosion in capital investment.

That’s why we created the Help to Grow scheme another UK first to help small and medium sized companies digitize skill up and scale up.

That’s why we launched the Future Fund another UK first in government investment backing high potential start-ups.

My point is this: even if you can’t see it yet, I assure you, the future is here.

Now is the time to turn to the future

Last year alone the UK attracted more venture capital investment to our startups than France and Germany combined.

And along with enhanced infrastructure and improved skills, we are going to make this country not just a Science Superpower, not just the best place in the world to do business… I believe we’re going to make the United Kingdom the most exciting place on the planet.

Take Artificial Intelligence. Once the stuff of science fiction. Now it’s reality – and we’re a global leader.

The steam engine kicked off the industrial revolution. Computers delivered automation. The internet brought information exchange.

And as the latest general-purpose technology, AI has the potential to transform whole economies and societies.

If Artificial Intelligence were to contribute just the average productivity increase of those three technologies, that would be worth around £200 billion a year to our economy.

And so today, I am announcing that we will create 2,000 elite AI scholarships for disadvantaged young people and double the number of Turing AI World-Leading Research Fellows, helping to ensure that the most exciting industries and opportunities are open to all parts of our society.

New policy, focused on innovative technology, supporting jobs for the next generation, a sign of our ambition for the future.

Because that’s why we are here. All of us. That’s why we became members of the Conservative party.

That’s why you all give up so much of your time sacrificing things that are important to you in order to help build a better future.

You know, the longer I spend in this job, the more I realise that the worst parts of politics are driven by fear. Fear of change. Fear of losing. The fear of being wrong. Even fear of the future.

And when people get scared they create divisions. They say: “you’re either with us or you’re with them.” But you cannot make progress if you’re pitting people against each other.

That’s what you get from a tired, fearful sort of politics. We saw it last week in Brighton.

It’s not just that Labour don’t like us. They don’t even like each other.

Whereas we, the Conservatives, are now and always will be the party of business and the party of the worker.

The party of the private sector and the public sector.

A party for the old and the young.

The British people want a party that can get things done.

So, at just the moment when it feels like we’ve done enough, that we’ve gotten through, that we can take a rest, we must not stop.

Now is the time to show them that our plan will deliver.

And now is the time, at last, at long last, to finally turn to the future.

Thank you.

The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 30 September 2021.

I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of UK workers and businesses whose resolve has seen us through an immensely difficult time. With the recovery well underway, and more than 1 million job vacancies, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close.

But that in no way means the end of our support. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people into work and making sure they have the skills needed for the jobs of the future.

The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 6 July 2021.

In accordance with the charter for budget responsibility, the OBR has today published its third fiscal risks report (FRR). FRR 2021 provides an update on the risks identified in previous reports, alongside focused coverage of three areas of fiscal risk: the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, and the cost of Government debt. I am grateful to the Budget Responsibility Committee, and staff of the OBR, for their work in preparing this report, which ensures that the UK continues to be at the forefront of fiscal transparency and management during these unprecedented times. The report was laid before Parliament earlier today and copies are available in the Vote Office. The Government will respond formally to FRR 2021 within the next year.

The UK has experienced two “once-in-a-generation” economic shocks in just over a decade, and the challenges faced by the UK since the start of the pandemic have been substantial. Action taken over the last decade to restore the public finances to health enabled the Government to fund a comprehensive package of support for the economy when most needed. The report notes that our direct support to businesses helped keep many of our employers afloat, kept insolvencies in check and avoided the kind of credit crunch that occurred during the financial crisis. The Government have acted on a scale unmatched in recent history to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods and to support businesses and public services across the UK. Taking into account the significant support confirmed at spending review 2020 and Budget 2021, total announced support for the economy in response to covid-19 is £352 billion across 2020-21 and 2021-22.

The report highlights the range of spending choices and risks we face, particularly relating to pandemic spending. These will be considered at the spending review. As the report notes, spending is increasing in cash terms, real terms, and as a share of GDP overall. Total managed expenditure is forecast to rise by 2.1% of GDP between 2019-20 and 2024-25. Core departmental spending is set to grow at an average of over 3% in real terms over this Parliament. Our plans will deliver the largest real-terms increase in departmental spending for any full Parliament this century.

It is clear that unmitigated climate change is another significant fiscal risk and decarbonisation is essential for sustainable long-term growth and therefore also for the health of the public finances. The fiscal consequences of transition to net zero will need to be managed in line with the Government’s broader fiscal strategy. The Government will publish our net zero strategy later this year, which will set out more detail on how we will meet our net zero target.

The pandemic and the Government’s necessary policy response has led to an unprecedented increase in Government borrowing and debt; FRR 2021 illustrates how this has made the public finances more sensitive to changes in interest rates. While borrowing costs are affordable now, interest rates and inflation may not stay low forever. The OBR’s latest forecast recognises that the Government’s current fiscal plans deliver a stable medium-term outlook for public sector net debt, but as I set out at that Budget, we need to pay close attention to the affordability of that debt.

The risks discussed by the OBR in this report underline the importance of returning our public finances to a more sustainable path. The report finds that, in the face of many potential fiscal risks,

“fiscal space may be the single most valuable risk management tool”.

That is why the Government set out at Budget 2021 a plan for returning the public finances to a more sustainable path. It is vital that we rebuild fiscal space to ensure that the Government can maintain fiscal resilience to respond as future risks materialise, continue to invest in excellent public services and give businesses and citizens across the UK the certainty that comes with knowing we can and will support them.

The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 17 June 2021.

The UK Infrastructure Bank has begun operating in an interim form and is open for business.

The bank, owned and backed by the taxpayer, will support and enable private and public investment in infrastructure, with core objectives to help tackle climate change, particularly meeting our net zero emissions target by 2050, and to support regional and local economic growth. The Government and the bank have also set out the institution’s investment principles today which will guide how it delivers its objectives.

HM Treasury and the UK Infrastructure Bank have entered into a keep well agreement to ensure that the bank has sufficient funds to be able to meet its payment obligations in full as they fall due.

The UKIB will be headquartered in Leeds, and will operate across the whole of the UK, supporting projects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Over the coming months, the bank will continue to build its capability and capacity as it establishes itself as an independent institution.

The Government are also publishing the bank’s initial framework document, which sets out the institution’s relationship to the Government.

A copy of the framework document, alongside an unexecuted copy of the “Keep Well Agreement”, which has information redacted on the basis that it contains either commercially sensitive or personal data, will be placed in the Library of the House.

 

The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 26 April 2021.

Innovation is at the forefront of our vision for the future of UK financial services. The Government are committed to ensuring that the UK remains at the global cutting edge of technology and innovation in financial services. Creating the conditions needed for our FinTech businesses to grow and compete, both here and abroad, is central to delivering on this ambition. This is why, at Budget 2020, I asked Ron Kalifa OBE to carry out an independent review of the UK FinTech sector.

The Kalifa review of UK Fintech (the Review) [1] was published on 26 February 2021. It made a number of recommendations aimed at Government, regulators, and industry across five areas: policy and regulation, skills and talent, investment, international attractiveness and competitiveness, and national connectivity. At publication, HM Treasury welcomed the review and highlighted key recommendations including:

A Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology to strengthen national co-ordination across the FinTech ecosystem to boost growth.

A regulatory “scale-box” to provide additional support to growth stage FinTech.

Amendments to UK listings rules to make the UK a more attractive location for initial public offerings (IPOs).

Improvements to tech visas to attract global talent and boost the FinTech workforce.

Here we have set out the actions that Government and regulators are taking in response to the review’s recommendations.

Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology

The Government recognise the potential for a private sector-led Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) as an accelerator for FinTech sector growth. It can achieve this through research, thought leadership, and working with regional FinTech hubs and national FinTech bodies to identify and address barriers to growth to the benefit of the sector across the whole of the UK. I have confirmed that the Government support the creation of this centre and will work closely with the FinTech community to make it a reality.

Regulatory scale-box

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also welcomed the Kalifa review and has set out steps it will be taking to deliver against the review’s idea for a “regulatory scale-box”, by enhancing its existing regulatory toolkit. These actions include:

Launching “Always Open” to make the regulatory sandbox available on a rolling basis.

Clarifying the scope of qualifying propositions for the regulatory sandbox to ensure as many firms as possible are able to access support.

Launching, in conjunction with the City of London Corporation, the second phase of the Digital Sandbox pilot, inviting applications to test proof of concepts to solve sustainability and climate change financial challenges.

Considering how to provide a “one-stop shop” for growth-stage firms to dock in and easily navigate what sources of FCA support are available to them.

Working with industry over coming months to identify further solutions for supporting firms manage the journey to scale.

The FCA has also announced plans to create a regulatory “nursery” for enhanced oversight of newly authorised firms, enabling an opportunity for additional support as firms become used to the requirements of regulatory compliance.

Listings regime

The Lord Hill Listings review, which was published at Budget 2021 and made recommendations to boost the UK as a destination for IPOs and optimise the capital raising process on UK markets, addresses a number of the Kalifa review’s recommendations for attracting more FinTech listings to the UK. The Government set out details of their response to Lord Hill’s review in a written ministerial statement on 19 April. In parallel, the FCA plans to consult on issues raised by the Kalifa review including reducing the minimum “free float” a company must have when it lists, and whether premium listed companies can have dual share class structures.

Scale-up visa

The Government demonstrated their support for attracting international talent to the UK at Budget 2021 by announcing creation of a “scale-up visa stream”. The new stream will be created within a new elite points-based route that will allow employees with a job offer at the required skills level from a recognised UK scale up, including FinTechs, to qualify for a fast-track visa, without the need for sponsorship or third-party endorsement. The Government will set out further details by July and the new route will be implemented by March 2022.

International competitiveness

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has announced it will create two new FinTech initiatives in response to the review. The first is a new FinTech cohort within DIT’s Export Academy initiative. This will provide bespoke, 1-2-1 advice to eligible UK FinTechs who are ready to scale into key markets such as North America, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Tailored advice will cover topics such as legal, tax, regulation, accounting, and market entry matters, all of which will support the international expansion ambitions of FinTechs on the programme. This is in addition to the wide range of existing DIT export support services currently available for UK businesses. DIT will also establish a FinTech champions scheme, comprising of leading UK FinTech advocates who are successfully exporting. DIT FinTech champions will fly the flag for UK FinTech overseas and support the next generation of UK FinTech in their growth journeys through mentoring and peer to peer learning. Both initiatives will enhance UK FinTech overseas, further elevating the UK’s status as a world leading FinTech hub.

Regulation for digital finance

The review also made recommendations more broadly for the Government to develop a regulatory framework for digitalisation and emerging technology in financial services. The Government are taking forward a number of initiatives in these areas:

Along with the Bank of England, HM Treasury has launched a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to co-ordinate the exploration of a potential UK CBDC—the Government and the Bank of England have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK. A CBDC would be a new form of money that would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them; the Government recognise that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK, and have committed to legislating to protect access to cash.

HM Treasury and the Bank of England are launching a CBDC Engagement Forum to gather strategic input on all non-technology aspects of CBDC.

The Bank of England is also launching a CBDC Technology Forum to gather input on all technology aspects of CBDC.

The Bank of England has launched a new account type that will allow access to central bank money by innovative financial market infrastructure providers to allow them to provide enhanced wholesale payment and settlement.

The Government have announced a financial market infrastructure (FMI) sandbox for firms exploring how to use technologies, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), to innovate in the settlement of financial securities. This regime will aim to support firms, which are developing this new technology, with a more flexible and tailored approach to meeting requirements in current legislation, while appropriately balancing any risks to financial stability, market integrity and consumer protection. This new regime will be inspired by the FCA’s sandbox and HM Treasury will work together with the Bank of England and the FCA to deliver this.

In 2020 the Government committed to creating a framework of standards, governance, and legislation to enable a UK digital identity market. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) published a draft trust framework for consultation in February this year which sets out the Government’s vision for the rules governing the future use of digital identities. A next iteration is expected to be published this summer.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy is taking forward work on smart data and has committed to bringing forward legislation to better enable data sharing across sectors, including open finance. The FCA published a call for input on open finance in 2019 and published a feedback statement in March this year. This set out that the FCA will work closely with the Government as it takes forward the work on legislation as well as assessing the regulatory framework that would be needed to support open finance.

Tax

The review also highlighted the benefits of tax incentive schemes in supporting FinTech growth and at Budget 2021 the Government announced steps it is taking to ensure the schemes work as efficiently as possible, including:

A call for evidence on the enterprise management incentive scheme to seek views on whether the scheme is meeting its objectives, and examine whether more companies should be able to access the scheme.

A review of R&D tax reliefs which follows the consultation last year on expanding the qualifying expenditures to include cloud computing and data.

The Kalifa review also makes various recommendations that Government consider industry is best placed to take forward and I am grateful to Ron Kalifa for bringing these to my attention.

I would like to conclude by thanking Ron Kalifa and his team for their exceptional work in producing this seminal review. Ron has succeeded in producing insightful analysis, and garnering widespread support from industry for a suite of proposals that keep us on track for the continued success of UK FinTech.

I look forward to taking forward the steps I have outlined today.