Mansion House 2023
On 10 July 2023, the Chancellor set out in a speech at Mansion House the government’s progress in delivering an open, green, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive, while retaining our commitment to high international standards.
The Chancellor presented a series of new ‘Mansion House reforms’ which will enable our financial services sector to unlock capital for our most promising industries and increase returns for savers, supporting growth across the wider economy.
Firstly, the government is announcing a series of measures to boost outcomes for savers and increase funding liquidity for high-growth companies through reforms to the UK’s pension market.
Secondly, the government is setting out ways to incentivise companies to start and grow in the UK by strengthening our position as a listing destination.
And finally, the government is seizing the opportunities of the future by reforming and simplifying our financial services rulebook to ensure we have the most growth-friendly regulation of any financial services centre, without compromising our commitment to stability.
The full text of the Chancellor’s speech can be found here.
The press notice accompanying the launch can be found here.
A full list of the measures that form the Mansion House package is as follows:
Boosting outcomes for pension savers
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. However, we have an opportunity now to boost outcomes for pension savers and increase the availability of funding for high-growth companies. The government is:
- announcing an industry led compact committing many of the UK’s largest Defined Contribution (DC) pension providers to the objective of allocating at least 5% of their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030
- exploring demand for government to play a greater role in establishing investment vehicles, building on the skills and expertise of the British Business Bank
- publishing a joint consultation response with The Pensions Regulator and the FCA on a new Value for Money Framework for DC schemes
- publishing consultation responses on small pots and decumulation, applying additional requirements to DC schemes to support further consolidation
- publishing a consultation response setting out the intention to consult on draft regulations for whole-life multi-employer Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes
- publishing a consultation response on a permanent superfunds regulatory regime for Defined Benefit (DB) schemes
- issuing a call for evidence on the role of the Pension Protection Fund and the part DB schemes play in productive finance
- launching a consultation on accelerating the consolidation of Local Government Pensions Scheme assets in England and Wales
Incentivising companies to grow and list in the UK
The government wants the world’s best and fastest growing companies to grow and list right here, to make the UK the global capital for capital, with a market which offers innovative capital solutions not offered elsewhere . The government is:
- announcing its response to Rachel Kent’s independent Investment Research Review
- publishing draft secondary legislation that will replace the retained EU Prospectus Regulation
- publishing draft secondary legislation to put in place a regime for a consolidated tape
- announcing the establishment of a new ‘intermittent trading venue’ before the end of 2024 that will improve private companies access to capital markets before they publicly list, acting as a bridge between private and public markets
Seizing the opportunities of the future, including those unlocked by Brexit
Behind all these reforms must sit a financial services sector ready to innovate faster, with regulators willing and able to support them as they do. That is why the government is announcing a series of reforms to enable the sector to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 21st century.
Delivering a Smarter Regulatory Framework
The government is undertaking a radical overhaul of our regulatory framework, to make it more streamlined and competitive and tailor our regulation to the UK. This will take full advantage of our new position outside of the EU, while safeguarding financial stability and continuing to protect consumers. The government is:
- publishing a delivery plan building on the Policy Statement launched as part of the Edinburgh Reforms
- laying a commencement statutory instrument repealing almost 100 unnecessary pieces of retained EU law from the statute book, including the European Long-Term Investment Fund Regulation and parts of the Payments Accounts Regulations
- laying a statutory instrument to give the FCA sufficient rulemaking powers, and the PSR sufficient powers of direction, for payment services and e-money to replace EU law is it is repealed
- publishing draft secondary legislation which will tailor the regulation of securitisation to the UK
- publishing the government’s response to the call for evidence on the Short Selling Regulation setting out the government’s plans to reform and replace this regime
- publishing a follow-up consultation on aspects of the Short Selling Regulation related to sovereign debt and credit default swaps
- publishing the government’s response to the consultation setting out the government’s plans to replace the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation with a new tailored UK retail disclosure regime
Further detail can be found on the Smarter Regulatory Framework.
Securing the future of the FS industry
We are also ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of the emerging technologies, markets, and innovations that will transform the global economy. The government is acting to supercharge the modernisation of the UK’s financial services sector, the government is:
- publishing a consultation on the new ‘Digital Securities Sandbox’, which enables innovative digital asset technology to be adopted in financial markets
- announcing the launch of an independent review into the future of payments, led by Joe Garner, to help deliver the next generation of world class retail payments
- announcing that it has determined that the U.S.’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission regime for clearing houses as equivalent to the UK’s, and that it will bring forward an SI implementing this determination later in the year
- publishing the interim report of Sir Douglas Flint’s Digitisation Taskforce, launched in response to Mark Austin’s Secondary Capital Raising Review
- publishing the City of London’s second State of the Sector report, produced in partnership with HM Treasury
Delivering for consumers and businesses
We are also ensuring that our financial services sector provides individuals with the products and services they need, as we continue to prioritise and safeguard consumers and bring our rulebooks up to date. The government is:
- publishing a response to the consultation on reforming the Consumer Credit Act
Documents
Last updated 19 July 2023 + show all updates
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Page updated to clarify geography of Local Government Pension Schemes
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First published.